I’m not sure if there have been any studies to proof that leaders who are still in touch with daily realities on the ground make for better CEOs, but I sure would expect so.

The other day a friend told me that every Friday morning, the former CEO of Coca Cola East Africa would walk to work posing as just another customer asking kiosk owners every little detail about how business was going without them knowing it was the big boss himself they were talking to, doing his own market research.

It reminded me of a Dutch documentary series where the top CEO’s of world leading multinationals like Philips, Shell and Unilever would for one day do the job of a shop assistant or a factory worker or a delivery truck driver. Without fail they would gain invaluable insights of what was really going on in the organisation, now having experienced how some of their well meant strategies would create unexpected bottlenecks on the floor for employees many levels down doing the actual work.

SPARK OF THE DAY

The companies we lead as entrepreneurs might in size be nothing compared to the examples mentioned, but that doesn’t mean some of our issues aren’t similar. At what point do you switch from hands-on jack-of-all-trades to become the manager directing the troops through “vision” and “strategy”? 

Do you provide solutions to problems you actually experience, or are you merely counting on past memories from a few years back?

If you are the leader, you can’t afford at any time to lose touch with reality!