The Zookeeper's Dilemma: Why Your Best Employees Won't Leave Their Cages

Once, in the state of ‘Wu’, there was a man who had raised an ape in a cage. Ten years had passed when, one day, he felt so sorry for his ape, having spent ten long years in a small cage, that he set it free.

To his surprise this ape came back two days later.  He asked the ape, “Did I not send you far enough?” Then he and his family carried the ape into a faraway valley and released it, but the ape, after ten years of caged life, had forgot its original habits and customs. Hungry, it didn’t know where to look for food and could only cry. Finally, it died of hunger in the deep valley. 

#WorkplacePsychology #CorporateCaptivity #EmployeeAutonomy #LearnedHelplessness #LeadershipFail #AncientWisdom