How to Avoid Becoming the "Isolated Executive"
Far too many senior executives at large companies become isolated in the corner office. Their professional lives involve a series of handlers -- people who take their calls, screen their email, drive them places, run errands for them, etc. They live in gated communities, travel in first class, and stay at five-star hotels. They have worked hard for these privileges; few would suggest that they don't deserve them. However, executives often find themselves living and working in a bubble. They lose touch with their front-line employees, their customers, and their suppliers.
Yes, many senior executives conduct town-hall meetings with employees, and they go on customer visits periodically. They tour the company factories or stores, and they visit supplier locations. However, these events are often highly orchestrated and quite predictable. People typically know that they are coming... which clearly alters the dynamic a great deal. Often, executives simply witness a nice show, put on by lower-level managers to impress them. They don't actually come to understand the needs and concerns of people who work in their factories or consume their goods. Such isolation breeds complacency and an inability to see new threats or opportunities.
How can executives protect against becoming isolated at the top? First, engage your consumers and employees in authentic, unscripted conversations. At Xerox, CEO Anne Mulcahy and fellow corporate officers rotate serving as "Customer Officer of the Day" at the company's headquarters (one day per month for each executive). In that role, they must deal personally with all customer complaints that come to the headquarters that day. As Mulcahy says, "it keeps us in touch with the real world. It grounds us."
Second, go watch how consumers behave, rather than simply relying on the data summarized after marketing research folks have conducted surveys or focus groups. People call this "ethnographic marketing" because the researcher acts as an anthropologist watching people in their natural environment. At Procter & Gamble, CEO A.G. Lafley engages in such direct consumer observation. A 2002 Forbes article describes Lafley making visits to consumer homes "incognito" so that he can learn directly from watching how people live and use his firm's products.
Third, go put yourself in your front-line employee's shoes for a day. Go work on the line -- whether that be at the cash register in a supermarket or at a station along an assembly line. When I began working at Staples in the mid-1990s, after completing my MBA, my first assignment was to spend several days stocking shelves and running a cash register in a store. You learn a great deal about the business in this manner. Executives too need to periodically go to the front lines.
Finally, executives must interact with young people. Time spent with young people exposes executives directly to new societal and technological trends, as well as a different perspective on the world. They should visit college campuses, spend time learning about social networking sites, as well as listen to and watch some of the multimedia (music, books, television) that young people enjoy. Within their own firms, executives might even take up Gary Hamel's suggestion that they set up a "shadow executive committee" consisting of employees 20 years younger than the actual top team. Seeking feedback from these young workers can provide a fresh perspective on the firm's strategies and initiatives.
In sum, executives must work hard to break out of the bubble that often forms around them as they rise to the top of large organizations. It takes a concerted effort, but the payoff is great. They will keep themselves grounded, as Mulcahy notes, and they will create bountiful opportunities for learning. That learning can drive innovation and improvement in their organizations.
Michael Roberto is the Trustee Professor of Management at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI. He joined the tenured faculty at Bryant after serving for six years on the faculty at Harvard Business School. He also has been a Visiting Associate Professor of Management at New York University's Stern School of Business.
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Great post.
Luckily, isolationism is easily cured, even for those in the rarified realm of the uber-exec. Take a taxi 1 out of 5 trips. Talk to the driver. Find out where they're from, what they're listening to on the radio, what they think of our 2008 election board.
Commit yourself to spending the first 5 minutes of ANY and every conversation listening. This is difficult, and you will often not succeed, but if you are MORE focused on listening and prolonging interactions 'ground level' staff will respond and share more. Practice with employees who are not 'yours,' such as cashiers at stores, concierges at hotels.
Remember that an interest in people and problems (and overcoming the latter) is vital to high-functioning executives. The ivory tower is a lonely, sterile place to live (and work).
Working on the line and performing 'rounds' with front-level employees are good ideas, but so are more dedicated times set aside specifically for such interaction. Try a random draw for lunch/coffee with one employee per week (don't cheat and pull from your direct reports). These lunch-bunch scenarios can be especially invaluable for connecting with younger employees and creating Leadership-In-Training programs.
An excellent executive commits herself to lifelong learning, and prioritizes the importance of her 'connecting' function. Put yourself out there - the payoff, as mentioned, is "great."
- Posted by Jen McCabe Gorman
March 18, 2008 6:36 PM
Great post.
Luckily, isolationism is easily cured, even for those in the rarified realm of the uber-exec. Take a taxi 1 out of 5 trips. Talk to the driver. Find out where they're from, what they're listening to on the radio, what they think of our 2008 election board.
Commit yourself to spending the first 5 minutes of ANY and every conversation listening. This is difficult, and you will often not succeed, but if you are MORE focused on listening and prolonging interactions 'ground level' staff will respond and share more. Practice with employees who are not 'yours,' such as cashiers at stores, concierges at hotels.
Remember that an interest in people and problems (and overcoming the latter) is vital to high-functioning executives. The ivory tower is a lonely, sterile place to live.
Working on the line and performing 'rounds' with front-level employees are good ideas, but so are more dedicated times set aside specifically for such interaction. Try a random draw for lunch/coffee with one employee per week (don't cheat and pull from your direct reports). These lunch-bunch scenarios can be especially invaluable for connecting with younger employees and creating Leadership-In-Training programs.
An excellent executive commits herself to lifelong learning, and prioritizes the importance of her 'connecting' function. Put yourself out there - the payoff, as mentioned, is "great."
- Posted by Jen McCabe Gorman
March 18, 2008 6:42 PM
The four methods just mentioned above appears very simple to follow by the senior executives. But in practice it might be a difficult proposition as becoming simple has become the most compliated. Because not too many senior managers practice any one of the methods as they fail to understand the importance of being closer to customers ans suppliers and other stakeholders. But again performing as duty customer officer day long, may not be universally applicable, so sudden visit to concerned parties/places, i think would serve the purpose. The idea is that senior executives must receive inputs from the apprrpriate end users and suppliers so as to formulate and execute more effective and timely plan in launching new products as deemed viable. The inouts in turn will help senior managers to maximize the shreholders wealth.
- Posted by Anonymous
March 24, 2008 2:58 PM
The four methods just mentioned above appears very simple to follow by the senior executives. But in practice it might be a difficult proposition as becoming simple has become the most compliated. Because not too many senior managers practice any one of the methods as they fail to understand the importance of being closer to customers ans suppliers and other stakeholders. But again performing as duty customer officer day long, may not be universally applicable, so sudden visit to concerned parties/places, i think would serve the purpose. The idea is that senior executives must receive inputs from the apprrpriate end users and suppliers so as to formulate and execute more effective and timely plan in launching new products as deemed viable. The inouts in turn will help senior managers to maximize the shreholders wealth.
- Posted by AHM YEASEEN CHOWDHURY
March 24, 2008 3:01 PM