How a Story of Two Donkeys Teaches Us About Teamwork and Workplace Pressure

I read this story yesterday on Academy Learning Management and felt a lot implies to me... truly an exceptional one.

It is a good story for all of us to hear relating to careers and social life. Very true.

Once upon a time, a Washerman was bringing up two donkeys.

Let us say Donkey-A and Donkey-B.

Donkey-A felt it was very energetic and could do better than the other. It always tried to pull the washerman's attraction over it by taking more load and walking fast in front of him.

Innocent Donkey-B is normal, so it will walk normally, irrespective of the washerman's presence. After a period of time, the Washerman started pressurizing Donkey-B to be like Donkey-A. But Donkey-B, unable to walk fast, got continuous punishment from the washerman. It was crying and told personally to Donkey-A, "Dear friend, only we two are here, why compete with each other... we can carry an equal load at a normal speed."

That made Donkey-A all the more energetic, and the next day it told the washerman that it can carry more load and even run fast also.

Obviously, the happier washerman looked at Donkey-B, his BP raised, and he started kicking Donkey-B. The next day with a smile, Donkey-A carried more load and started running fast. But it was breath-taking for Donkey-B, and it couldn't act that way. But the washerman was frustrated, so he harassed Donkey-B terribly, and finally, it fell down hopelessly.

Then Donkey-A felt itself as a supremo and happily started carrying more load with great speed. But now the Load of Donkey-B is also being carried by Donkey-A, and still, it has to run fast. For some period, it did, finally, due to fatigue, it got tired and started feeling the pain. But the washerman expected more from Donkey-A. It also tried its best, but it couldn't cope with his owner's demand. The Washerman got angry with Donkey-A also and started harassing to take more load... Donkey-A was crying for a long time and then tried its best... But it couldn't meet the owner's satisfaction. Finally, the day came when due to frustration, the washerman killed Donkey-A and went searching for some other Donkeys.

It's an endless story...

But the moral of the Story in Corporate and Social life is, "Think all colleagues are the same and that everyone is capable... Always share the load equally... Don't ever act smart in front of your Boss and never try to get over-credit... Don't feel happy when your colleague is under pressure."

It doesn't matter if you are A or B, for the Boss, you shall always be a DONKEY.

And most importantly,

Never Work Hard, Work Cleverly.

Hi,

I completely agree with this perspective. The more you strive to be intelligent, the higher the expectations, and eventually, one may find themselves trapped in a pit of their own making!

I want to share an experience from my time working in Mumbai at an Event Management firm. I was eager to showcase my abilities, especially in a supposedly professional setting. Although my primary responsibility was client servicing for corporate accounts, I excelled at creating PPT presentations. I often assisted a junior colleague who lacked proficiency in PPT skills.

Many colleagues sought my help regularly. However, one day, I realized that this junior colleague would politely provide me with Excel files/PPT presentations and then relax, leaving me to handle the workload and receive any associated criticism.

I found myself overloaded with extra tasks, assisting colleagues and even facing repercussions for their mistakes. It was then that I understood the importance of focusing solely on my assigned duties, performing them to the best of my ability within set timelines and capacities, without overextending myself.

It is indeed crucial to work smarter rather than harder!

Cheers,

Nisha

Hi,

Very good story. But, why did Donkey A take more load? I do not find a reason in the story. Is it for appreciation from the washerman, more feed from him, or for what? Just for the sake of carrying more load? Or, for humiliating the donkey-B? The story does not tell anything on the reason or motive of Donkey A.

Thanks, Jeevan

Well, the story has a sadistic angle in a way; it indicates that no matter how much you work, your boss will never be satisfied. HR is about believing in people, so I would suggest believing in your boss too if you really want to climb the corporate ladder. You need to work hard, put in that extra effort, and I am sure you will get returns. Yes, I do agree with the fact that instead of competing with colleagues, we should collaborate and work in teams. Anyways, it was a good attempt.

Cheers,

Shikha Sahai

Hi,

This is a good one and is very relevant to me since I have some projects coming up which includes “teamwork” as a topic as well.

As posted by Nisha when working in a team some may have the capability of manipulating and getting the work done through others and claiming the applause as well. But when working in an organization the teams have to be formed in a way where these should be avoided.

When recruiting employees who have to work as a team for a specialized task some recruiters conduct Psychometric tests to recruit employees who will fit in to form a healthy “Group”. A person with manipulative behaviour can also be included if the team consists of another member who knows how to use that particular manipulative skill to the whole team advantage. A person with aggressive behaviour could be included if another member has the quality of knowing how to use that for the teams advantage as well. There should be planners, members who have the ability to put that plan in to action, who have the ability to work towards the end, people who work with logic and people with facts etc.

It is sort of like all these different personalities are pieces of a puzzle. And if all these personalities can be fitted perfectly……….well it's a perfect team.

There are loads of Psychometric Tests on line to find out what personality you are when it comes to team work.

Regards,

Ashra

There is a master talent in most of us. Any talent which we have could be used to our advantage as well as disadvantage. When it comes to working in groups all these talents blend together to create a more successful out come.
What I suggested was when we work as a team and understand each other we get to know how exactly each individual skill could be used as an advantage for the group outcome. Maybe the manipulative skill can be used to gain an outside resource or input which may be needed to complete the task. It is how the group helps each other see and use the positive side of each individual's talent.

Yes, you are 100% right. This will enhance team spirit and foster a culture of respect among employees in any organization, be it social or professional.

Mamta :)

Good one!!!

Goose Story - Stand by each other

When you see geese flying along in a "V" formation, you might consider what science has discovered about why they fly that way. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least a 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. People who share a common direction and sense of community can reach their destination more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone, and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front. If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those people who are heading the same way we are.

When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back into the wing, and another goose flies point. It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether with people or with geese flying south. Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

What messages do we convey when we honk from behind? Finally - and this is important - when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own or with another formation to catch up with their group.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.

Viji

Since Viji has mentioned the concept of teamwork and the Flight of Geese, I would like to share a PowerPoint presentation on the Flight of Geese.

Hi,

Yes, it is indeed a brilliant story for reflection.

The moral of the story is beautiful but very idealistic.

If we observe the dynamics in the office, it is a replicate behavior of Donkey A & B... Perhaps this stems from our childhood when we are told and encouraged to perform better than others to be noticed and appreciated. We all carry a lot of our childhood traits into our adult life, and this shows in one way or another in our performance at work or at social circuits.

When we talk about teamwork, one needs to understand the contributions made by the individual to the group/team performance. The acknowledgment of this contribution has to be made in a very distinct manner by the supervisors concerned in order to encourage each member to contribute his/her best, knowing their capabilities or shortcomings.

Regards,

Chris

Ashra,

I don't know the origin of this story, but of course, you can use it. This part of training (soft skills) is given to young engineers who come to the industry directly from college/school. I'll attach another interesting philosophy (like the goose philosophy) which is as good as Geese. :)

Viji

I endorse your views expressed. Indeed, in the industry, the success of one man depends upon the performance of the other man. It is a chain link. Though the story is more apt, one should come out of the syndrome of "don't do much" and "don't do less." We must embark upon the opportunity and look for the bottom line as the end results only determine whether we are successful or failures. Success will have many fathers, but failures will have none. Everyone must excel and work in tandem.

N. Selvarajan

Great story. Three ways of looking at it:

a. Can be used for expectation setting, but the context will have to be made clear.

b. If you link it to teamwork, then there is a saying - "the speed of the team is the speed of the slowest member in the team." So, without going overboard, Donkey B could have worked (if possible) to increase efficiency.

c. It happens in a business scenario that there might be one person with lots of energy and intelligence wanting to do more but pulled down by colleagues because they are not geared up for challenges, thereby bringing the morale of the team down.

Hi Nisha,

Maybe this suits your story better:

"Give a hungry man a fish and he will be hungry again tomorrow. Give him a fishing rod and teach him how to fish, and he will be hungry no more."

Regarding the original post, this is what we call productivity. This is how we identify our STAR performers, and this is how we describe success. This is where your entire PMS and C&B are concentrated on.

Interestingly, as the story highlights, there has been quite some research happening on the subject of "How to manage your star performers," which somewhere discusses issues arising due to such issues. Can we really help solve this problem? I don't know. But one thing I have been taught early in my career by my boss is that everything that goes up very fast will have to come down at some point. The more the spikes, the more the falls. Consistency is important and grow like a ladder rather than a Sine Curve.

Regards,

Srikanth Ch

Just to add what Srikanth said, a beautiful quote.
"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to go to the forest to gather wood, saw it and nail the planks together. Instead, teach them the desire for the sea."– Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Thank Mallet for posting the story. It fits in with an old Chinese saying: "Capability invites laboriousness" or "Able people should do more work." So does Nisha's example. However, I do not suppose that the donkey's story is a good one for implying something about teamwork. Because the two donkeys seem not to work as a team; they just work together.

A-Sum

Hi,

It does imply a team. The job profile of both donkeys is the same, i.e., to carry the load. Both are a team sharing some amount of work among them. But if one tries to be too smart, you have just seen what happened.

Regards,
Mallet.

Hi,

Let me tell you another story...

Once upon a time, a washerman was bringing up two donkeys - let's call them Donkey-A and Donkey-B. Donkey-A felt very energetic and believed it could outperform the other. It always tried to attract the washerman's attention by taking on more load and walking quickly in front of him.

Donkey-B, on the other hand, was a bit lazy and would walk at a normal pace regardless of the washerman's presence. Over time, the washerman started pressuring Donkey-B to be more like Donkey-A. However, Donkey-B, unable to walk fast, received continuous punishment from the washerman. It cried out and told Donkey-A, "Dear friend, it's just us two here, why compete with each other? We can carry equal loads at a normal speed."

Donkey-A responded, "This is our job, and I approach it with enthusiasm and happiness. You can see things the way I do since we are equals."

Donkey-B struggled to accept this and found it challenging to carry the normal load alone. Donkey-A took on more load and could even run faster.

The washerman, visibly pleased, rewarded Donkey-A with more food, water, and rest. Despite this, Donkey-A continued to work diligently, exceeding the washerman's expectations. The washerman grew frustrated with Donkey-B and began mistreating it. The following day, driven by enthusiasm, Donkey-A carried even more load and ran faster, while Donkey-B struggled under the pressure, ultimately collapsing in despair.

Feeling like a champion, Donkey-A happily continued carrying heavier loads at great speed. The washerman showed more care and interest, providing ample rest, shelter, and food. Donkey-A even took on the burden that was meant for Donkey-B, all while maintaining its pace and meeting the owner's satisfaction. Eventually, the washerman passed away, and a friend who recognized the donkey's abilities bought it at a high price.

This story is endless...

The moral of the story in corporate and social life is that the kind of leader you are matters. When you encourage people, they work more enthusiastically and happily. Remember, you are not a donkey, whether you are the washerman or his friend; you are an intangible asset for them. "Don't feel overwhelmed when faced with a little more pressure; it's an opportunity to showcase your hidden talents."

"Do work hard smartly..."

Regards,

LN Battacharya