In leadership, spending too much time at a high altitude can spell disaster for the organization.
The CEO must move around and see what is happening at all levels of the organization. However, it is important that the CEO not interfere with the work of the people operating at lower levels, but asks them how he (or she) could help.
We have had some extraordinary senior executives at UNICEF who were masters at switching rapidly between levels and even engaging several altitudes at once, from the office party to the world of real work. Those executives made staff feel free to make suggestions and invent. These executives are surely a rare species.
Comments