Sending Leaders back to the front lines

At times, I think leaders can become so disconnected from the real world and what they are trying to do as a business. I also think it can be hard for ideas to come up through the ranks because they are dismissed as insignificant. Sometimes, it is important for leaders to take a step back and understand the business from a different point of view. The view of employees at the other end of the company.

I found an interesting article that talks about a British TV series where CEOs are asked to leave their offices to see what is really happening in their business. The entire article can be found at: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/56/staircase.html . Below are a couple of the lessons learned.

From Down the Up Staircase by Ian Wylie, FastCompany.com

Almost without exception, CEOs learn a lesson in communication. "We find people at the heart of every organization who know exactly what's right and what's wrong with it," says Thirkell. "But between them and the bosses is a layer of people -- those whose careers depend on sanitizing that information. Bosses are always surprised at how much knowledge exists further down the ladder."

"It taught me humility," says Gillian duCharme, who was head of exclusive boarding school Benenden when Thirkell sent her to teach unruly children at Forest Gate Community School in East London. "I thought I could teach anyone, but I couldn't control those kids. I had to learn a new set of methods." In 2000, duCharme quit to become an education consultant but still keeps in touch with those she met at Forest Gate.


Tom Riall, who previously served as managing director of waste-disposal company Onyx UK, spent a week collecting garbage and learned the power of seeing problems with his own eyes. "You can be briefed about an issue by your managers for years," he says. "But until you experience it for yourself, you don't really understand it. I found that there were constant mistakes with our overtime payments and that our fleet of vehicles was unreliable." Riall continued to go back to the floor after the cameras disappeared. Currently a managing director at security firm Reliance, he is itching for Thirkell to give him another go.

During his week as a paramedic in Glasgow, Adrian Lucas, CEO of the Scottish Ambulance Service, learned that small issues are as important as big ones are: "The smaller issues can become major bones of contention -- such as being slow to award paramedics their badges after they've gone through training. It reminded me that I'm here to serve those who serve others."