The context
A few weeks back (it must have been around 5 weeks back), as some of you may know, I was out in the sun, visiting as many buildings as possible to build a database at work.
As I walked passed the beautiful and gigantic Etisalat tower that I had just surveyed/ reviewed, I realized that these tall and new buildings that were closer to the roads were actually hiding many less-than-impressive residential buildings, home to the Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan working classes. Essentially forming the core of the various blocks in the area, these low-rise properties (5 floors) were bustling with life.
Ground-floor retail, -or GFR as it has come to be known in our office-, makes the streets there radiate with colors. No fancy marketing, all of these shops are mediocre at best and the signs are indeed colorful, but rarely tasteful. Nonetheless they provide the many residents of the area with laundry services, photocopy services, computer repairs and cheap coffee shops. As dirty (it seems unhealthy to even walk past some of them) and shabby as they were, it occurred to me that these minute shops together formed the very heart of the community I was in.
So here I was, observing avidly what people were up to. Some of them were sitting on stairs in front of the buildings. Others were simply walking and looking around. 11 perfectly identical buildings were organized in what could be called a sub-block, and they surrounded a central open space. Kids were shouting. They were playing cricket. As I continued my survey, I started to feel like I was becoming part of all this. The noise, the colors, the movement, the (most unpleasant) smells. The place engulfs you in a feeling of warm and welcoming discomfort.
As I finally decided that I had entered a whole other world than the one I had imagined back when I was surveying the luxurious, spotless 40-storey tower of the national telecom company, I was quick to sink deeply into one of these "take-a-step-back" moments that have come to provide me, over the years, with most of my more philosophical insights and, later, convictions.
As it often happens, my metaphor-loving mind started drawing lessons on something completely unrelated: Leadership.
And then it struck
It started unexpectedly. Conscious as I was of the deep clivage between the appearance and the reality of the area, my eyes tried to find the landmark building I had first surveyed, to revel even more in this striking divide. Surely, with 35 floors more than the old little clones, I would have no trouble locating the gleaming tower that was merely 60 to 70 meters away. But I couldn't. Why? Perspective.
So close was I to the smaller residences, I could not even see the tip of Etisalat A. I took a few steps back. Not there. Another few steps back. No luck either. I turned around and moved in a few swift strides to the center of the sub-block to get the best chance to see it. Turned around, it wasn't there. I was trapped. Trapped in this other world. It was somewhat suffocating but I stayed there and started thinking. (now it gets freaky ^^)
The metaphor
To me, it seemed these buildings could be compared to people. What if this whole thing was a company? The idea seemed good.
I was now a small, almost insignificant worker in a massive multinational firm. The telecom tower was the global CEO of the group. The once-white buildings were now middle-to-low managers. In this context, I noted that the Harvard-educated CEO who earned USD 5 million as a base salary and 7 more in company stocks, lived in Santa Clara in Cal, and drove an Enzo was relatively less impressive, in the eyes of the ant I had become, than the mere team leaders with high-school educations and simple Fiesta's and Clio's. Indeed, it was safe to say that, to me my direct supervisors, albeit being infinitely less high-ranking and qualified than the superstar CEO, were my only masters. The CEO was not even in sight! So what can we draw from that far-fetched metaphor?
Lessons for the CEO (also note that "CEO" is a metaphor for anyone with some power, in any context, including non-professional)
The more people you lead, the more you become invisible to the people you lead, because the size of your company pushes you out of sight of the low-ranking employees. Indeed the middle managers, who become essential as more people work for your company, are closer to your employees than you are. Never forget that middle managers have more influence than you do.
If you become invisible like the Etisalat tower...how do you solve this problem? It's difficult if not nearly impossible without radical measures such as laying off all middle managers and the resulting unsupervised workers (talk about becoming popular ^^), but it would certainly help a lot to spend time getting known by the workers. This can be done most effectively... by getting to know some of them on a more personal basis. Come this close to a worker and he will soon realize that the tower you are is indeed so much more than the supervisor he previously held in admiration. Let them actually see you where they can compare you with their direct supervisors. You will gain much respect from them and obtain more political power when it comes to managing your firm.
You must also (and it is less logistically challenging than the previous piece of advice), communicate extensively with your employees. Heck, keep a blog updated, or a weekly newsletter, to let them know what's going on and what you are currently assessing in terms of company strategy, provide them with extensive feedback tools and listen to their ideas. Make your workers feel valued not by the elusive "company" (that's a mistake many firms do), but by YOU personally. No matter how far along on the evolutionary track human beings are when it comes to abstract thinking, no idea or concept can ever be as inspirational as another human being providing them with direction, attention, and a sense of self-worth. Any action you can take to be that human being in their eyes, will earn you respect and near-blind trust. The most valuable assets of a leader.
However, in applying these methods, be especially careful not to completely overpower the lower managers, as they remain a vital link between your strategy and its different resulting applications. It's a question of balance. Keep everyone aware that you ultimately remain their leader, but don't crush people. Don't destroy the spheres of influence each supervisor gets from Perspective, because this influence, whether they know it or not, is their most valuable tool. Take it away, and you will find them to perform poorly. Your company will start lacking in coordination. Results will get affected and your credibility destroyed. The middle managers will either feel vain and leave by themselves, or HR will eventually make them redundant (take about becoming popular v.2 ^^).
In brief, be aware of Perspective. This driving force behind the concept of Leadership has to be kept balanced enough so that you retain your power, without at the same time affecting your company negatively by giving the impression you are the only one with power. You have the most power, yes, but NEVER all of it.
And in the meantime, I feel like Machiavelli LOL.
