More than 38 million viewers watched CBS’s Undercover Boss following the Super Bowl last Sunday. It was one big splash first episode. I must admit that I was one of those viewers. And I loved it.
I am a huge believer in helping senior leaders better understand what happens on the front line – especially by getting them out on the front line. We often hear from survey participants that company leadership doesn’t understand what goes on in the field. Expectations are unrealistic, employees don’t have the tools they need to do their jobs, rules are put in place that simply don’t make sense to the people who have to live by them. So I suspect many of the millions of viewers have themselves wished to see their executives try to do their job.
In the first episode, Waste Management’s COO Larry O’Donnell went undercover to ride in a garbage truck, sort recyclables, pick up trash, and empty toilets. He learned first hand how decisions in the C-suite impact employees on the front lines. And he implemented several changes based on what he saw. (more…)
Filed under: Employee Engagement, Employee Retention, Executive Leadership
I recently read an article titled “It’s Always About the Boss” that was published in Gallup’s Management Journal.
Always? Really?
I know. I know. You’ve heard it before – and probably even said it – “People don’t leave their companies, they leave their managers.” But research just doesn’t back that up. It is not always the boss.
Just to be clear – I’m not saying that the boss isn’t important to building engagement and retaining employees. I agree that an immediate manager has a huge impact on employee engagement, productivity, and retention. Most of us can probably name a favorite boss that inspired us to go beyond what we thought we could do. And a bad boss can definitely drive an employee away. But for most employees, a good boss cannot make up for other more fundamental elements of the employment equation. (more…)
