Undercover Boss

Have you seen the reality show, Undercover Boss, on CBS? A recent episode highlighted the integration of 7-11 CEO, Joe Depinto, into the entry level positions of his own company. Under an assumed identity as part of a supposed documentary about new employees in various fields, Joe spent a week being filmed doing various jobs in the stores and support shops of his huge, billion dollar, corporation.

Take a minute, if you haven't already, to watch the first part of the show above. If you have a few more minutes, watch the full show here on Hulu.

So why go undercover in your own company? Here are some of the things Joe learned in his one-week adventure:

-- Successful stores are ones in which the employees know their customers and make them feel like family. Joe was amazed at how Delores (she of the 5 children, 1 kidney, and almost 20 years at the same 7-11) knew the names of everyone who came into the store, one of the busiest franchises in the company. She (and not Joe!) was why the store was so successful.

-- Everyone needs a way to grow in the company. Joe was disappointed to find an employee who felt that there was nowhere to go, no way to grow, within the organization. There can be no dead-end jobs in a company if people are going to remain loyal and stay motivated.

-- Great programs, hatched by well-intentioned managers and senior leaders, often don't make it to the support facilities or store floors. Often this is not known unless and until those senior leaders take time to get out in the field and listen to employees. Joe was disappointed to see that his initiatives on things like facility repair and sharing of older food with charities wasn't being implemented as designed. He would never have discovered this without getting out from the big office and seeing first-hand what was happening -- day and night, and in both stores and support shops.

It was great to hear Joe refer so often to his "troops." "Great companies need great soldiers!" "Just as in the Army, the role of the leader is to take care of his people." And I know Joe is sincere, because I have served with him. We were good friends and company mates at West Point and we soldiered together out in the Army. I am proud to see that the values he learned in uniform still shape his thinking about leadership today!

Maybe a stint undercover would be good for all of us. Perhaps a day down on the shop floor would not only humble us but give us a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges that still need our attention. How about calling your own office and support staff and seeing how customers are treated to learn more about this important interaction? Why not serve others for a day and learn about the true role of leaders as servants to others?

Thanks for your leadership of 7-11, Joe. Your undercover experiences made me proud to know you are part of the "Old Grey Line" at West Point. Next time I am in one of your stores for a cup of coffee and a donut I will, no doubt, see the results of your customer and employee-focus. That's Leader Business!

(Un)Learning Leadership from "The Office" -- Part II

I shared with you previously my addiction to the NBC show, "The Office." It truly is like watching a leadership train wreck -- uncomfortable, inappropriate, and offensive. And yet...I can't look away. Not only is it funny, it offers insights into management issues faced by leaders everywhere.

Now this is not to suggest that the Office manager, Michael Scott, does a good job dealing with those issues. In fact, on most levels, he is an excellent example of everything one should NOT do as a leader. But I think many of us can acknowledge that we learn as much about leadership watching bad leaders as we do from good ones. Most of us have leadership qualities that are a combination of the former (things to avoid doing) and the latter (things to model). From the video above, you can guess in which category most of Michael Scott's behavior falls:

-- Leaders create the work environment. They are responsible for modeling appropriate behaviors, establishing a culture of tolerance and acceptance, and demand the highest ethics from themselves and the team. If you watch the show, everything Michael Scott does is wrong. He says inappropriate things ("That's what she says!"). He makes viewers wince with his off-color jokes and repeated episodes of intolerance. He allows bigotry from subordinates (Dwight) and never misses an opportunity to put people down for issues of weight, color, or religious and sexual preference. His behavior is clearly ALL WRONG. And this is probably the point. There is no mistaking his errors. And we squirm because we've all seen it. Leadership is clearly about creating a culture of acceptance and respect for all. It is about eliminating prejudice and crude actions that inhibit teamwork, trust, and performance. Leadership is about building people up, not putting them down.

-- Leaders focus on the mission. Many episodes of the show can pass without ever seeing any work get done. Sales are rare. Discussions about personal issues far outweigh talk of profit, performance, and best practices. And no one is more distracted than the leader of the DunderMifflin branch, Michael Scott. He is quick to rally the troops to talk about how to plan his own birthday party, while slow to talk about industry trends, competitor actions, or quarterly goals. There may be no greater time waster in the history of business than he. Constant meetings, games, off-sites, guest speakers, training, and internet surfing makes it hard to see how business gets done there in Scranton. Mission accomplishment starts with the leader. When he is focused, the team is focused. But when he is lost, the team is as well.

-- Leaders share the credit. Michael Scott may be the most selfish leader in history. He is content to be the only one on the team to have a parking space or to receive a bonus. He wants every success to be credited to him and every failure to be someone else's. True leadership is about focusing on the mission and the success of the team, without regard for personal success. Interestingly, most of us have seen that it is when we embrace this philosophy, we often have our brightest moments. Not Michael Scott. He finds new ways to put the "I" in "TEAM!"

-- Leaders know the business. While Michael Scott claims to know about sales, there is little evidence that he understands things like technology, accounting, marketing, or shipping...and probably not sales! Oh, and as for the business of leadership, he may have unwritten the book! One of my favorite scenes is when he tells Oscar from accounting to, "Pretend he doesn't know anything about the company's finances" in order to explain some very fundamental issues to him. It's funny because...he doesn't know anything about the company's finances! Leaders must be competent. If they don't know something, they should learn it -- before their incompetence hurts the team. While leaders don't have to know everything, they should have a basic understanding of the important things.

-- Leaders embrace change. Paper companies are ripe for efficiency. Customers should be able to make orders electronically. New products and services should be advertised on the company website. Sales managers must be equipped to operate virtually, not chained to the desk and the rotary phone. Michael Scott is old school -- to a fault. His methods of doing business likely make it difficult to compete with the "Big Box" companies. His failure to embrace emerging products and new opportunities makes it difficult to see how DunderMifflin remains in business. But it does make for good TV!

So while I admit to being an addict, I think I know why I watch. To an (hopefully small) extent -- I see myself. I have failed on occasion to establish the right culture and the necessary mission focus. I have hogged too much of the credit and have been too slow to adapt. I am reminded almost every day that I am not as smart as I think I am and am only successful because of the great people with whom I work. I think this show helps us all laugh -- at the Scranton Branch and...at ourselves. Perhaps the more that I watch, the more about bad leadership I can unlearn. That double negative should hopefully make me a more positive, inspiring leader with my own team. That's Leader Business!

Learning Leadership from "The Office" -- Part I

I'm going to admit it. I'm an addict. I am totally hooked on "The Office." Now that it is in syndication, I can find it on multiple channels every night of the week and, of course, on NBC on Thursday nights. If you don't watch the show, you may not appreciate the notes below. But even just from the 30 second clip above, you know this is not your average show. And Michael Scott is not your average boss. He may be, all at the same time, the World's Best -- and Worst -- Boss.

It's like a train wreck. I can't look away. I know Michael Scott's management style is all wrong...and yet I find myself learning leadership from him. Something about his management of the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin makes me think I'm not alone, and maybe I'm not doing too badly in my own position. Something in his quirky performance tells me, and likely many others, that leadership is difficult, that the alignment of people, personalities, and individual goals and objectives within a company focused on the bottom line is a heavy responsibility. But if he can do it...so can I!

Truthfully, there is much more negative than positive to learn from Michael Scott and the daily life in "The Office." There is way too much drama and, with all the meetings, pranks, and time wasting, productivity cannot be good. But in this two-part series on lessons from the show, I choose to start with the positive. Most of what Michael does is a mess. But some of what he does is truly worthy of emulation.

-- Michael Scott has created a culture within the branch where people can be themselves, where it is okay to have fun at work, and where each member of the relatively small team adds value -- to each other and to the company. He has created a sense of family among the diversity of the Dunder Mifflin branch. Attrition is low. Despite the give and take, people genuinely care about one another. They celebrate successes. They hang out together after work. People trust each other (well...mostly).

-- No one communicates like Michael Scott. Regular meetings, office huddles, and proactive sharing of information keep all informed. No one can say they don't hear or see enough of the boss or know exactly where they stand with him. Michael is an in-your-face, on the shop floor leader. He tells people what is happening at corporate, participates in all training sessions, and makes it a point to engage with every member of the team on a regular basis. While most of us complain about a lack of communication from our leaders, this is clearly not the case in this little paper company.

-- Michael works hard to develop subordinates. He made Dwight co-manager while also giving Jim responsibilities during his absences. He sent Jim on a developmental assignment at another branch and helped one of his teammates (Ryan) gain a leadership position at corporate headquarters. He has taken various members of the team out on sales calls and recruiting trips. He encouraged Pam to pursue her goals in design and gave her leave to go to school. He accepted the "co-manager" title along with Jim and, for a very brief period of time, demoted himself and made Dwight office manager. Michael is a caring boss who wants his team to succeed.

-- Michael is real. He has no pretenses about who he is. The pride that is evident in so many in leadership positions is virtually absent with him. He doesn't pretend to be Superman. He knows his weaknesses and is not afraid to ask for help.

Now...it isn't pretty. But what office is not without its dysfunction? Even the creepy Michael Scott has a good side. He cares deeply. He is passionate. He wears his emotions on his sleeves. He loves his job and his teammates. And, in their odd sort of way, they love him back.

The result? Dunder Mifflin seems to be weathering this difficult economic climate. Michael is consistently recognized for the performance of his branch. People stay. By any common measurement of leadership success, Michael is pretty effective.

I hope you watch the show and look for these positive leadership elements. Maybe you have some regarding positive lessons from the show that you can share. Perhaps together our growth will be stimulated from the lessons of the Scranton Branch. And maybe, like me, you can laugh at yourself and your own leadership shortcomings while peering into the life of the Dunder Mifflin team. I hope some of these things are worth incorporating into your own leadership journey. A little Michael Scott might brighten a day, make a difference, or change a life in your office. That's Leader Business.

Read Part Two on "The Office" here.

Spider-Senses

I grew up watching the cartoons and reading the comic book exploits of the "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man." I guess I would say he was hands down my favorite superhero. And when he came out on the big screen I was, like so many others, reminded of my fascination of this complex character. Now don't get me wrong, I'm no comic geek! But I do appreciate the powers of the Webslinger! And hey...who wouldn't want to climb walls, shoot out webs and swing from building to building, and have the relative strength of a spider?

Without question, the Spider-man power that I have most appreciated is his "Spider-sense." Not only do I appreciate it, I think I too have this power. Not as much as I'd like but...I have it. And I bet you do, too.

Wikipedia defines Spider-Man's "Spider-sense" as a "tingling feeling at the base of his skull, alerting him to personal danger in proportion to the severity of that danger." It is the sensation that something bad is about to happen. It is his unique ability to sense peril ahead, sort of his early warning system that he needs to take action to avoid trouble...or meet it at a position of advantage.

Leaders must have "Spider-sense." It is what tells us that danger is ahead. It tells us that something is unsafe, that a failure is imminent, or that an employee is in trouble. Shaped by experience, it is the safety net that can prevent personal or professional calamity.

But we have to listen to it. When our "spider-senses" are tingling, we have to pull back and assess the situation. That intuitive feeling that something just isn't right demands a response. Like Spider-Man, leaders have to take the necessary action to avoid trouble...or position themselves or other key leaders at points of friction or locations where they can seize an advantage, prevent catastrophe, or stop an unsafe act.

In combat scenarios, I have always relied on my "Spider-senses" to determine where I should position myself on the battlefield. I have listened to my intuition to help eliminate alternatives that I know won't work, are too demanding on our resources, or are unsafe. My senses have tingled when an employee said something that I knew suggested they were having issues and I needed to talk it out. And the base of my skull has been the source of more than a few sensations about people who I knew weren't up to the task, tasks that were not aligned with our purpose, and missions that had no hope for success.

Now I will also admit to my share of shortcomings...where I have failed to listen to my "Spider-sense." The scars still remain from a recent occasion where I signed a document without reading it, causing a major firestorm in the media and with some important stakeholders. My intuition said the document wasn't worded right and that my signature could have major ramifications. Yep...I felt the tingling...but I did not listen. And that one hurt.

Our "Spider-senses" are there to help save our reputations, our businesses, and sometimes even our lives. It is not something that should cause paralysis from the fear of the unknown but rather is a professional advantage to those who leverage it to out-think competitors and outmaneuver danger. Leaders have to be sensitive to that tingle and know that it is the suggestion that something is not quite right. It is a leadership "super power!"

So what about you? When your "Spider-senses" are tingling, do you listen? Do you step back, assess the situation, call on a trusted agent for another opinion, or sleep on that email before sending it? Do you pay attention to that inner voice that warns you about safety issues, client concerns, or market trends? If you are not good at this, practice. Listen to your inner thoughts. Follow up on your intuitions and understand what is causing the tingle.

If your "Spider-senses" are strong, you share a power held by my favorite Superhero. And when you follow up on that tingling, like Spidey, you will stay one step ahead of danger and one move ahead of your enemies. It's a leadership super power that can take us to the highest of heights. But take the elevator. Leave the wall-climbing to the Webslinger! That's Leader Business!