Smart Leaders
As reported in the April 8, 2023 edition of the Morning Brew, Starbucks new CEO Laxman Narasimhan will work half a day each month in one of the company’s stores to stay close to its culture and customers.
Likewise, UBER’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi recently completed over 100 hours as a food delivery and passenger driver. Actually getting behind the wheel allowed him to resonate with the issues and concerns of the company’s drivers. The subsequent changes allowed UBER to return to pre-pandemic driver numbers and increase their market share from 62% in 2020 to 74% now.
Narasimhan and Khosrowshahi did one of the smartest things any leader can do. They got information at one level and then made decisions at another. Smart leaders get first-hand intelligence rather than relying on filtered information. Less effective leaders rush to judgment and make decisions based upon arrogance and assumptions.
Recently, I wrote about The Unfortunate Results of The Iceberg of Ignorance. In short, The Iceberg of Ignorance is when leaders isolate themselves from those they lead. They are the 10% above the water (like an iceberg) in corporate offices while the 90% below the water is where the innovation, culture, and customer interactions take place. The subsequent decisions made lack the information, perspective, and insight needed to make a quality difference.
Walk Slowly Through The Crowd
The late-pastor John Bisagno’s key to effective leadership was “to walk slowly through the crowd.” Walking slowly through the crowd allows you to know what your people are sensing and feeling. This practice then allows you to add maximum value to them.
Click Image to Purchase Best-Selling Leadership Book
In my new book Mighty: 7 Skills You Need to Move from Pandemic to Progress, I identify the 13-step process in which organizations lose quality people. In sounds simple but Step #1 was not knowing who your quality people are.
The solution to this problem is to follow the examples set by Laxman Narasimhan, Dara Khosrowshahi, and John Bisagno. Come out of your corporate office. Leave the comfort of the Green Room. Get among your people. Discover who your top performers are. Learn from them what is working. Find out what the real issues are and then develop solutions to address those needs.
Doing so will allow you to become a better leader and your organization to go to another level.
My latest eBook is available for download. The Top 65 Leadership Quotes Of 2022 Part 1 is a resource every leader should have. Great quotes bring clarity and put into words who we intuitively feel as leaders. They give us wisdom and insights which advance the mission and vision of our organizations. This eBook includes thoughts and insights from leaders like Warren Buffett, Nick Saban, James Clear, Dawn Staley, Jurgen Klopp, Jerry Seinfeld, and even Ted Lasso. This resource will take you about 10 minutes to read but a lifetime to apply. You will want to stop and ponder the implications of each quote. Click HERE or on the image provided for immediate download!