I THINK THIS IS A REALLY GOOD IDEA

Don't start by telling me why it can't be done.
If you run the company, it can be.

So here is what I'm thinking about:
--What if you as the CEO or top leader quit spreading yourself so thin by having your calendar filled with visits to various parts of your company equally distributed?

--What if you went and lived with a banner, a function, a country for a 
substantial amount of time. You can have your regular calendar clogging rote meetings long distance. (They matter less than you think unless you make them worthwhile for you.)

--What if you picked a function that was under performing or doing something very innovative and set up an office smack dab in the middle of their work setting  and worked from it for say 3-6 months.  People could drop in.You could wander. And of course you can shut your darn door and do what you have to do, but the informal contact and information would bring radical learning to extrapolate. 

--What if you touched the grit of your business enough to lead with a sure touch and strategy

--What if you became one of your customers long enough or often enough to
speak for them from an up close experience?

How on earth do you run your company without grit?
How do you fight the forces to become only conceptual?
How do you know you are making the right changes without deep knowledge?
How do you know enough to trust your gut and your intuition?

Going deeper for a longer time would give you the right stuff to work with rather than short shallow snippets that don't ground you fully for tough decisions.

HOT TOPICS AT WORK

I have a position about hot topics at work. There are many and right now in The United States it is politics. Once upon a time, I wasn't so clear and it caused problems. I wasn't clear for myself and I wasn't overt because of that. I lost a close relationship with a high potential leader by squelching his bold social political comments during a leadership retreat. In reality, I agreed with his position but it was a tributary discussion that was killing the main purpose of the session. (It was meant to be an informal after dinner discussion and wine was in the room, which didn't help.) 

So here is my stance on hot topics:
--People in the workplace can talk about hot topics outside of work topics informally while at work--cafeteria, hallway, bathrooms (oh yes).
--At a formal (even if casual) meeting the focus trumps any hot topic remarks. Leaders need to know how to gracefully kill the conversation. Not easy but necessary.
--The hot topics need to be handled respectfully all the time. Period.
--I don't support pressure on any employee to vote in a particular way. If there is a policy/governmental issue it can be spelled out as to why it supports the business. Period. 
--Humor is only good if it is good natured and not personal. 
--Collaboration is essential in the workplace so anything that puts people truly at odds with one another at work is not OK. Monitor this, soothe this, set an example.

I don't envy the task in this vituperative election year but I do think it is the CEO and top team's accountability to keep a civil workplace. Period.

CLARITY WITHOUT CRISIS

I'm thinking about the recent hurricane and other big emergencies that companies have to face. I worked with a large food retailer in The United States
that faced plenty of natural crises as will as business disruptions.

And these disasters brought out high level organizational  performance in each situation. Why? And why does it take near disaster or worse to get extraordinary 
execution and engagement?  Here are a few thoughts:

—The priority is clear. All extraneous activity is eliminated.

—Decisions have to be made and so they are.

—People at all levels have to make decisions without regard to position or fear of failure. The only failure is no decision.

—Top leaders come in close. Their presence is felt and heard.

—Everyone knows that what they are doing is very important.

—There is an altruistic impulse to help one another. Generosity prevails,

—There is a very clear call to action.

So the challenge is how to get this kind of clarity without the crisis!

Have you seen the same dynamic? 
Let me know.
I'm curious.
Was my experience unique?

RESULTS REVIEW/PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT

At last companies are looking at killing the annual review along with the bell curve that assumes mediocrity rules and so-called high potentials get spoiled in terms of composition, development and career possibility and equally hard working people learn resentment and disengagement.

What is beginning to work differently?
—Unhook compensation from individual effort/performance
—Tie all compensation to company results. All
—Create a learning culture in which there is constant tweaking of performance
through mechanisms (like internal company apps) for on the spot information about what worked and what didn't in terms of effort. 
—Anyone can ask anyone at any time for an assessment for results and for increased capability
—Co-coaching, peer coaching, is common and everyone is trained and become skilled in learning through action that moves the needle
—Meaning and purpose and mastery and understanding the large picture and being part of it matter more than compensation differential
—People leave when the high feedback high learning environment tells them they are not doing their work well and coaching supports the choice. 
—Frequent, easy to do, both oral and written feedback done throughout the organization kills legal worries. Feedback comes from all directions and hinders bias.

Sounds naive? Tell it to a Millennial.

A REMINDER ABOUT YOUR POWER

 

You live in a hierarchy and therefore you live in an universe of power and you become blind to it when you are the major power holder of the hierarchy.  And in all probability, as a modern CEO, you are a nice enough guy and quite adept at using your power lightly.

So I am reminding you about how you are in the eyes of your company. You give and you take away. You reward and you don't. You smile and talk or you don't. And people watch. They notice. 

Think of this as a glimmer of a lesson you have forgotten. Think about how you mute yourself when you have an opportunity you don't want to mess up. Think of how eager you are to please you global boss ready to drive the car to pick her  up. You are just as scared about disapproval from above. You are equally if not more sensitive to the issue of pay. You choose carefully where you sit at a table at a Board meeting. You quiver to power shift.

And you are just as eager to do good work and and just as dramatically turned off by lack of recognition as every person is in your company. Just as human as any person who works for you about how to live in a world maintained by positions of power.

THE WORLD TILTED

Fifteen years ago on 9/11 I was in the office tying up loose ends before I left for vacation. The day in Maine was gloriously Fall. The burnished quality of the sun and the flat fabric like blue sky were iconic. I noted it and felt lucky for the break I was to take. 

I went to the Board room to find the CEO to touch bases before I left and was curious about the TV being on. I entered and for a moment thought my colleagues were watching a spoof of a King Kong movie. Then I heard the tone of the announcer's voice and sat down next to my boss. We waited to understand the tragedy and then the second tower fell. I grabbed the hand of the CEO and we sat silently as we watched the world tilt and our American innocence slide away. 

It has not come back. How do we do important and good work in an atmosphere of random violence and a pervasive cultural anxiety that has become part of the fabric of our lives? That is a question we don't think about often enough. We forget what we ingested on that shining Fall day fifteen years ago. 

GIVE 'BORING' A TRY

Are you an adrenaline junkie? Probably. The morass of 'in your face'  issues you have to deal with and the boredom of day to day demands that don't seem to move the needle make you vulnerable to loving the crisis, the big magic change,
the latest leadership innovation.

What can be called 'boring' can also be incredibly satisfying:

—How about being "well run"?

—How about regarding strong management and supervision as key to smooth days?

—How about toning down overly dramatic language of the "best in class, worst showing, amazing, stellar, excellent, peak, burning platform"?  It's an odd habit of pumping everything up to a life or death urgency. 

—How about being patient with a project to allow it to come to fruition. No helicopter parenting of innovation.

—How about the value of trudging to get where you want to go? Left foot, right foot.?

—How about setting your own pace and running the race according to plan?

—How about giving your organization a break?

If these questions make you scornful or seem naive, then go have your adrenal
glands checked for exhaustion. Just a thought.