How to keep leaders from falling out of touch with their teams
Five of my clients are currently struggling with leaders who are geographically distant from their teams. The industries and the leaders’ roles are different, but the problem is consistent. In spite of all the great communication tools, these businesses are suffering because these leaders are not part of the daily, informal interaction in the office. They are out of touch with the emotional climate in the office, and often make decisions which seem misguided to their team. When it’s necessary for a leader to work at a distance, it requires an extraordinary effort on his or her part to stay in touch, including travel for face-time.
If you’re working under a boss who feels too distant — remote or not — try managing up. When done right it allows you to provide maximum value to your company, to advocate for your team, and to advance your own career. Managing up sometimes gets a bad name — when it looks more like sucking up. To avoid that, balance how you navigate your relationship with your boss with how you build relationships with your peers. As I said at the latest LEAD program at The Executives' Club of Chicago, some key behaviors include sharing credit, being generous to your colleagues, and being able to laugh at yourself.
To create a feeling of openness and reciprocity between employees and leaders, try sharing the company’s financial results. There is ample evidence that when you let employees know how the company is doing, both employee engagement and profits go up. If you decide to let your people see behind the curtain, be sure to provide some basic training in business acumen so they understand what the numbers mean. A few years ago I was coaching a small business owner who came in very upset one day. His spreadsheet showed that his profit was lower than his expenses. He thought that meant he had lost money. A little education from me helped to reassure him.
When it does come time for adversarial encounters between leaders and employees, take the emotion out of it. New research shows that anger at the negotiating table leads to poor outcomes, and that’s just one place where emotional restraint is crucial to success. “Lady” and “gentleman” may seem like old-fashioned words, but for business leaders, holding oneself to high standards of courtesy, consideration and emotional equilibrium is key. In other words, to be successful, act like a lady or a gentleman.
I’ll leave you with a joke about the importance of knowing the boss’s mind. The VP of sales, the HR chief and the CEO of a company are on their way to lunch when they come across a battered old brass container. The VP of sales picks it up and starts cleaning it with his handkerchief. Suddenly, a genie emerges out of a curtain of purple smoke. The genie is grateful to be set free, and offers them each a wish. The HR chief says, “I want to be living on a beautiful beach in Jamaica with a sailboat and enough money to make me happy for the rest of my life.” Poof! She disappears. The VP of sales says, “I want to be happily married to a wealthy supermodel with penthouses in New York, Paris, and Hong Kong.” Presto! He vanishes. “And how about you?” the Genie asks the CEO. The CEO scowls and says, “I want both those idiots back in the office by 2:00 p.m.”
Moral of the story: Always let your boss speak first.
