The Santa Claus Model of Management Doesn't Work

One of the most common but least examined assumptions about management is what I call the Santa and the Elves model.

In this model, the manager is Santa Claus. Like Santa, they’re equipped with elves—employees—whose job is to help the manager get their work done. At the North Pole, the elves exist purely to make Santa more productive. While they work cheerily in the toy factory, old St. Nick is off doing the fun stuff: reading letters, visiting children, eating cookies, delivering presents… and taking all the credit.

But for a manager, this is a deeply dysfunctional way to think about the role.

Your employees aren’t there to orbit around you while you handle the glamorous or strategic parts of the job. If you see them as instruments of your own productivity, you’ll never get the best from them.

Eventually, they’ll stop giving you their best altoget…