“You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” – Winnie the Pooh
Childish? Maybe yes. A nugget of leadership wisdom from a “silly ol’ bear”? ABSOLUTELY!
As a leader of people, where is your presence needed?? Is it sitting in your corporate office, or is it in your varying customer locations? Of course, there are times when you need to be in the office but remember where it all happens. For most of us leaders, money is being made at the customer site(s)- not at our desk. Of course, our customers live at the customer site- not in my office. And our staff spend 8+ hours a day at multiple customer sites- not (usually) wherever we are.
A few questions. Do your staff feel they are part of a greater team, or do they believe they are on an isolated task buried in some customer organization? Do they know you, your 2nd tier of leaders, and the direction of the business? Do they know each other and the differing services/expertise across the entire team?
I’ve been quoted as saying, “Staff often feel that they are out at a client site ‘pushing a rock’ from day to day. They want more. They want to be part of something larger than themselves. As leaders, our job is helping them internalize the importance of their contribution and where it fits within the overall business. They need to know that if they don’t ‘push that rock’, part of the ‘mountain’ falls.”
Leave your desk, fill your gas tank, make sure your shoes are in serviceable condition, and go connect with your folks!
-Nate Copeland