The Ant and the Pen

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ant-pen-lesson-boundaries-growth-workplace-c-suite-for-christ-zkrrc

Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with many types of employees. Over the years I’ve  identified two big differences. We have weak talented and capable individuals but are bound  by fear, and we have strong and risk-free individuals. 

Then I came across a fascinating little experiment that I put in practice with one of my clients. You place an ant on a sheet of white paper. Then, with a pen, you draw a circle around it. The moment the ant reaches the line, it stops, hesitates, and turns back. For the ant, the line of ink is a boundary, a wall. It doesn’t attempt to cross over, even though nothing physical is keeping it inside the circle. 

Now, you take a spider and do the same thing. Draw the exact same circle. The spider barely notices. It walks right across the line without hesitation, continuing its journey beyond the boundary. 

That tiny difference says a lot about how people behave inside organizations. Some are like  ants, some are like spiders. And as a leader, it’s your job to recognize the difference, because how your people interpret those “lines” will define the strength of your team and future growth. 

The Ant Employee 

The ant employee is hardworking, reliable, and structured. But they are also limited. They  thrive only inside the lines you draw for them. 

• They follow directions to the letter. 

• They ask for approval at every step, wanting reassurance before moving forward. 

• They avoid risk, because stepping outside the line means stepping into the  unknown. 

• Their comfort zone is doing exactly what they’re told, no more, no less. 

This kind of employee can be helpful when consistency and compliance are critical. They  make sure the rules are followed, the boxes checked, the processes adhered to. But they also slow down progress. 

Because they rarely take initiative, they unintentionally place the burden back on their  managers. Every decision, every adjustment, every new idea has to be run through someone else. They don’t want responsibility on their shoulders and so they stay safely  inside the circle.

It’s not that ant employees are bad people or even bad workers. It’s that they hold themselves back. They see limitations where there are none. They wait for permission instead of creating momentum. They not only limit themselves, but they limit the growth of the organization as a whole. 

The Spider Employee 

Then there’s the spider employee. They notice the line, but it doesn’t define them. They are  guided not by what’s drawn around them, but by what they know they can contribute with. 

• They move forward without waiting for constant approval. 

• They focus on results, not just tasks. 

• They carry responsibility willingly, understanding that risk and growth go hand in hand. 

• They ask themselves: “What value can I bring?” instead of “What will my manager allow me to do?” 

Spider employees are often the innovators, the problem-solvers, the ones who make a  manager’s life easier instead of harder. They don’t need to be pushed. They pull themselves and often their peers forward. 

When you have spider employees, you feel the difference. Meetings shift from “What should I do?” to “Here’s what I’ve done.” Accountability rises. Initiative spreads. The team’s energy changes, because boundaries no longer feel like cages but challenges waiting to be crossed. 

The Pen: What Leaders Often Forget 

Now, here’s the part leaders need to reflect on: the pen. 

The pen represents leadership. It’s what creates the circles, the policies, the processes, the  expectations. The same pen that provides structure can also create invisible prisons. 

For ant employees, every circle becomes a wall. They’ll never push beyond what you draw or what they feel are allowed to. 

For spider employees, the circle is just a suggestion. They’ll keep moving, because their focus is on results, not restrictions. They get the idea and execute right on it. Every implementation requires execution, even if it’s a change where we know that often changes are hard, but necessary. 

This means leaders have to ask themselves a hard question: 

• Are you leading in a way that produces more ant employees who are afraid to move without your approval? 

• Or are you cultivating spider employees who feel trusted, empowered, and safe to take ownership? 

Too much control creates ants. Too much fear creates ants. Too much micromanagement  creates ants. 

But trust, encouragement, and empowerment? Those grow spiders. 

The Bigger Lesson 

Organizations need both ants and spiders. Ants bring structure and reliability. Spiders bring  initiative and innovation. But the truth is, no company thrives on ants alone. 

Growth, progress, and breakthroughs happen when people step across the lines. They happen when employees are trusted enough to move beyond “what is allowed” and encouraged to pursue “what is possible.” 

As a leader, you don’t just hold the pen that draws the circle. You also hold the pen that can  rewrite it. 

So ask yourself: 

• Am I building a culture of ants who stop at every boundary? 

• Or am I creating space for spiders who challenge those boundaries and expand what’s possible? 

Because at the end of the day, the future of your organization depends not on how neatly  your employees stay inside the lines, but on how bravely they step beyond them. 

Leadership is not only about drawing lines with the pen. It’s about inspiring your people to  look beyond them — and sometimes, to rewrite them altogether.

Article by Natalia Motoc