Sunday Special: Are We Creating Drivers or Drainers?
Sunday Special
Are We Creating Drivers or Drainers?
Opening
In every classroom… every staff room… every organisation…
We often hear labels:
• “This person is a driver.”
• “This one just follows.”
• “This one drains energy.”
It sounds normal.
It sounds observational.
But pause for a moment.
Are these people… or are these outcomes?
The Common Classification
We quietly divide people into three types:
Drivers
The ones who take initiative, move things forward, create momentum.
Passengers
The ones who follow, do what is asked, stay within boundaries.
Drainers
The ones who resist, complain, or slow things down.
It feels like a simple classification.
But reality is rarely that simple.
The Hidden Question
What if…
● People are not fixed categories
● They are responses to the environment
A highly proactive person in one place
may become silent in another.
A disengaged individual
may become energetic under the right conditions.
So the real question shifts from:
❌ “What type of person is this?”
to
✅ “What kind of environment is shaping this behaviour?”
Social Math Insight
Let’s express this through a simple lens:
Behaviour = Individual × Environment
When the environment changes,
the outcome often changes too.
What Creates Drivers?
Drivers don’t just appear.
They are often nurtured by environments where:
• Ideas are heard
• Efforts are trusted
• Mistakes are not punished immediately
• Ownership is encouraged
In such spaces, people don’t wait.
They step forward.
What Creates Passengers?
Passengers are not inactive by nature.
They often emerge when:
• Instructions matter more than initiative
• Safety is valued over experimentation
• “Don’t make mistakes” becomes the silent rule
So people adapt.
They do what is required—nothing more, nothing less.
What Creates Drainers?
This is the most misunderstood category.
Drainers are often not negative individuals.
They are frequently shaped by:
• Lack of recognition
• Repeated dismissal of ideas
• Imbalance in respect or fairness
• Feeling unheard or undervalued
And slowly…
Energy turns into resistance.
The Subtle Truth
In many cases:
The same person can be
a Driver in one environment
a Passenger in another
and a Drainer somewhere else
So the label may not define the person.
The environment often does.
A Gentle Reflection
Before we label someone, we may ask:
• What kind of space are we creating?
• Do people feel safe to contribute?
• Is effort recognised—or just outcomes?
• Are we encouraging voices—or controlling them?
Because behaviour is not just displayed…
it is shaped.
The Leadership Lens
Whether in a classroom or an organisation:
Every system silently decides:
● Will people step forward?
● Will they just comply?
● Or will they withdraw?
Not through policies alone…
but through everyday experiences.
The Core Realisation
People are not always the problem.
Sometimes, the environment is the equation.
Closing Thought
Maybe the question is not:
■ “Why are there so many passengers or drainers?”
Maybe the real question is:
■ “What kind of environment are we creating?”
Final Line
In the end,
When we change the environment…
we don’t just improve performance -
we transform participation.
—
Rakesh Kushwaha
Founder, Mathivation Research Lab
Exploring Behaviour • Education • Social Math
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3408-306X
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19296185
—
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