The Biggest Mistake That Leaders Make
A few months ago, I read a great book by Dale Partridge called People Over Profit. It detailed the cycle that many businesses go through. First, they begin with a noble idea and they work like crazy to make it happen. Second, they begin to have some success, so they find that it’s time to scale up. Thirdly, and predictably, somewhere during the efficiency cycle, something breaks. The company has to fix it and with a larger operation, customer and public perception becomes a piece of the consideration. In many cases, rather than simply saying, “Yep, we botched it,”, a damage control operation is launched. This leads to the fourth stage where the company begins to realize that authenticity is critical and so they apologize to their customer base with the commitment to fix the issue.
The Communication Cycle
This business cycle led me to wonder about the personal communication cycle that many leaders go through as well. The business starts off with a spirit of family and everyone eats lunch together in the warehouse conference room. The admin, the developer, the sales person, the veep and president are all in the same room, chatting with each other and sharing thoughts. It’s a special time.
But then, the company starts to get some traction and there is more demand for the product. Now, it’s time to scale. More efficiency is required and more meetings are scheduled. The president moves his/her office further down the hall for a bit more privacy with clients and executive meetings. The company gets a new building where there is now an executive suite which is clearly distinguishable from the burgeoning cubicle farm.
Success hits and there is now a campus rather than a single building or several floors instead of one. The executives are now in a totally separate area. In fact, they never see the “entry-level” employees except in the crowd at the annual state-of-the-company address.
What’s happening here? The gap keeps getting wider and wider. As growth occurs, there is a necessity for roles to morph a bit. The company president is no longer part exec, part developer, part ideas guy. He/she is now strictly a meetings/face-of-the-company person.
Hmmm. This change occurs almost invisibly. Sure, the outward representations are there. But the change in the communication/relationship occurs imperceptibly, at first. Before you know it, the distance in buildings and floor perfectly represents the relationships between leaders and…well, non-leaders.
What would happen?
What would happen if leaders remained aware of this distancing and instead chose to spend intentional time with their team? What would happen if instead of ditching the family style lunches, the leaders made time to continue to have lunch with small groups of employees? What would happen if a leader made time weekly to visit with a certain number of people on their team for 10 minutes each to talk about NON-WORK ideas?
Would the company fall apart? I’m actually suggesting that the opposite would happen. You would have more loyal followers, employees and team members because they know that you actually…you know…cared!
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About The Author: Robert Kennedy III is trainer, author and speaker that works with organizations on leadership and relationship building. He is the author of 28 Days To A New Me: A Journey of Commitment and the also the forthcoming book, Purpose, Power & Profit: How To Create Maximum Impact Through Your Gifts. Contact Robert on Twitter at @robertkennedy3 or on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/robertkennedyiii.
Learn more about Robert — http://www.robertkennedy3.com/about/
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