Leadership isn’t just about setting goals and expecting results. It’s about understanding the Human Variable—the unpredictable factor that makes every workplace interaction unique. Leading a team is a lot like taking care of a car. Just like a vehicle needs proper maintenance, employees need support to stay engaged and productive.
The Human Variable and Workplace Performance
The book Driving Engagement makes a great analogy. A small car’s RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) means that a four-cylinder engine fires 12,000 controlled explosions every minute at 3,000 RPM (Liechty, 2023). Now, consider an employee’s workload. They make dozens or even hundreds of decisions each day. If a leader ignores the Human Variable—the mental and emotional strain employees experience—they risk pushing their team too hard. This can lead to burnout, disengagement, and even turnover.
How HBSE Explains the Human Variable in the Workplace
Human Behavior in a Social Environment (HBSE) offers valuable insight here. HBSE explains that people’s actions aren’t random. They are shaped by biology, psychology, and social factors (Sharma & Gupta, 2024). In the workplace, this means:
- Employees bring their whole life with them, including stress, past experiences, and emotions.
- The workplace isn’t just about productivity. It’s a social environment where interactions and culture impact performance.
- Leaders influence how employees respond to stress, challenges, and engagement. They play a role in managing the Human Variable, just like a driver influences how smoothly a car runs (Driving Engagement).
This ties back to the Driving Engagement warning: “When you feel someone on your team sputtering, or you notice the timing is off, don’t ignore it… otherwise, you will find yourself stranded in Death Valley” (Liechty, 2023).
Ignoring warning signs—like an employee becoming disengaged or overwhelmed—is like ignoring a strange noise from your engine. It may seem minor, but it can lead to serious issues over time.
Leadership is About Managing the Human Variable
You can’t control how employees feel or react. You also can’t control every bump in the road when driving. However, you can control how you respond and care for your team’s well-being.
Like regular oil changes keep a car running smoothly, small leadership actions—recognizing hard work, checking in on stress, and encouraging work-life balance—keep employees engaged.
So, next time you see a team member struggling, ask yourself: Are you treating your employees like a well-maintained vehicle? Or are you driving them into the ground? The Human Variable is unpredictable. But with the right leadership, you can keep your team running at peak performance.
Supporting Research
- LIECHTY, E., & Williams, M. (2022). Driving Engagement. WILLIAMS & CO PUBLISHING.
- Sharma, N. P., & Gupta, V. (2024, February 7). Human behavior in a social environment. StatPearls [Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK574501/#article-130468.s4
Image Credits
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- Cars.com. (n.d.). Close-up of a sports car engine [Photograph]. Retrieved April 28, 2025, from https://www.cars.com/shopping/advanced-search/…
- Etsy Listing Image
- ShopName. (n.d.). One-on-One Meeting Agenda Microsoft Word [Photograph]. Etsy. Retrieved April 28, 2025, from https://www.etsy.com/listing/1423394223/one-on-one-meeting-agenda-microsoft-word
- iStockphoto Image
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