The value of proximity to the problem - why executives need to stay hands on

If you have been in any large corporation for a while, you can sometimes see what I think is a disturbing trend that as people are promoted through an organisation as leaders, the teams that they lead stay close to the ground level and the customers or partners that they serve but organisational constraints or demands often drag the executive managers further and further away from those same customers and partners.

Occasionally those corporations may institute some kind of program to break down this barrier, but often by that time the damage is done and the disconnect between manager, team and end customer is complete and hard to rebuild.

One to One Engagement with customers and partners keeps your feet planted in the reality of the business

So whats the answer….?

I believe its a simple one and one that i have always believed in and it is about 2 things – accessibility and engagement.

Once upon a time I was told a story by an account executive who once took the CEO of the company out to visit a customer. After a friendly meeting where the CEO repeatedly told the customer that his door was always open and if they had any concerns to contact them, in the post meeting debrief that same CEO told the account manager, if the customer did ever contact them then the account manager would be out of a job….Now maybe that’s one of the urban legends that springs up inside companies but I think it serves as an example of what accessibility is not…so the key here is to always be willing to take time to talk to someone that takes the time to talk to you and to foster those engagements.

In my experience most people are respectful of high profile people’s time and don’t usually abuse the privilege of having someones contact details and arent looking for you to be a best friend…they want to have a relationship based on the business value to both parties…well at least that’s been my experience after 30 years in the work force and occasionally you get lucky and do make a new friend in the process….

So why not encourage it…too many great insights in to the customer or partner reality have been cut off by well meaning (or sometimes not so well meaning) employees who see it as their role to filter out bad news or difficult issues from the executive suite.

The second one is about engagement….and the best way to do this is to ensure that your executives and front line staff spend time in real one to one engagement with customers and partners….talking about real issues and wherever possible rolling up their sleeves to get hands on in solving problems that customers and partners are facing.

The best way to do this is via some kind of mentoring program…think about where the individuals talents can be best used and then make sure you are teaming them up with the right partner or customer. If they have talent, experience and deserve to be in their role….even 30 minutes of one to one time with that executive should deliver a benefit to the customer or partner..and will definitely benefit the executive.

What do you think…have you been part of this kind of program and do you think it works – I’d love to get your thoughts.