I heard the definition of a leader is one who others follow—willingly. I’d like to think that since I’m trying to do well on all fronts, I emulate that in substance and in practice.
Sadly, I fail at being 100%. In my defense, it’s a long road to learn how to be a textbook leader in the classical sense, but still I strive in the hopes of being better each day. In truth, I’m easy to get along with—as long as those helping me are moving in the same direction.
So recently I was watching a TV show, and the character used the word “martinet.” I paused the show to Google the definition, because I’ve not heard that before.
The result from Google:
“A martinet is a person who demands strict, rigid obedience to rules and orders, often even when those rules are unnecessary or unreasonable.”
I kept thinking … that sounds a bit like me, and I did not like the resemblance. After pondering this for a while, it became obvious that a martinet can hold a positive and a negative connotation, and I decided to appreciate the good (more acceptable) quality but understand the extreme view.
I thought of examples: General George MacArthur from WWII perhaps can be considered a martinet of sorts, and most certainly Steve Jobs of Apple.
I kept reading the Google info, and I discovered the term was coined from Lieutenant Colonel Jean Martinet, an inspector general of the French infantry under King Louis XIV in the late 17th century. Martinet was a legendary drillmaster who transformed the French army into one of the most disciplined and effective forces in Europe by enforcing a strict, standardized system of drill and obedience (that seems good/helpful/positive). Over time, his name evolved into a generic noun for anyone who takes rules to an extreme (that seems extreme/disciplinarian/negative).
Alright, I can be comfortable with part of that, but not all of it. For example, I’m not going to give any of my employees 40 lashes with a whip for not vacuuming well, but I would get righteously upset if they used power tools in an unsafe manner. I have fired workers on the spot for extreme behavior if that behavior endangered themselves, others or property. (Funny thing, another variation of the definition of martinet is a short, multi-tail type of whip made of a wooden handle and about 10 lashes of equal, relatively short length. If you think of a cat-o’-nine-tails like the Romans used, you get the idea. So, if I yell at someone and “give them a verbal lashing,” it all makes sense now.)
The perspective is key here. If I were to go about hollering at everyone for the smallest thing, one could accurately say that I would be a martinet. To that fellow worker, I would be a disciplinarian, stickler, taskmaster—an authoritarian person who is hard to work for.
But what if that fellow worker is lazy, unsafe or cares nothing for the task at hand? It would appear from their perspective that I am indeed a taskmaster, but in actuality, I’m saying, “No, you cannot use the table saw anymore” because you are unsafe and are going to harm yourself. From my perspective, in that situation, I am not a martinet at all, just enforcing basic best practices. Or maybe the worker is leaving boards with the pointy end of nails up and they are in the way of other workers, or maybe the worker is abusing tools by harming them or losing them. To that worker’s understanding, yes, I am a martinet, and in that case, I do not care.
In a way, I feel I am now becoming one with the gentler definitions of the term “martinet,” and I like it. An example of a gentle aspect that comes to mind is imperfect vacuuming before applying a floor finish. I can forgive an error if the solution just means “do it again.” But if they are using a power cutting tool with such disregard that you instinctively yell “Stop!” the second you see the convergence of circumstances a few moments from something tragic happening, I’m willing to be a martinet.
Most of the readers of this blog are either the owners of a business or in leadership over a crew. Even if you aren’t, you can represent professional conduct and influence others to strive for best practices. This would mean we are all partially a martinet in some respects, and as I’ve detailed here, we can pursue basic practices of safety and workmanship and, when needed, go taskmaster authoritarian as the needs arise.
I think running our business fits this new term “martinet” to some extent, and my goal will be to keep a balance between extremes as often as possible. But in the end, I’m not apologizing for the role I play in ensuring good quality and preventing unsafe behaviors.
