Fellow Leaders: The View From the Top Might Be Misleading You

As leaders, you and I have developed a laser sharp focus on many details in order to be successful:

• Profit & Loss of the Enterprise

• Shareholder Interests

• Process Optimization

• Organizational Design

• Employee Retention

• High Potential Employee Development

• Customer Satisfaction

We have reports, dashboards, and lists generated routinely in order to help us understand the health of the business. We have mastered the art of time management so well that at a single glance, we are able to glean the information we need in order to get a "gut check" .....and then, we move on to the next priority.

We have employees surrounding us who, at the whim of an email, text, or phone call from our executive assistants, will mine whatever data we may need and ensure we get it just in time to make all of those important decisions we are paid to make.

There is absolutely no doubt that the weight of the success of our wonderful companies lies squarely on our shoulders. You and I, we have nothing but the best intentions. We are reaching for all of the right information, asking all of the right questions, solving problems, and breaking down barriers each and every day. That's what we do.

Or is it?

Fellow leaders, if those Key Performance Indicators, Shareholder reports, and customer satisfaction summaries are your only go-to information, then the view from the top may be misleading you. There are several red flags you might be missing which will only be clear to you if you keep a constant close pulse on chatter and churn at the individual contributor level. Here are some examples:

• The P&L shows the company met margin goals AND added new programs, projects, or increased product AND headcount remained neutral AND the company did not invest in new technology or software

• Customer Satisfaction scores show an increase AND employee travel or overtime has elevated

• Employee retention is high AND high performance employees more frequently elect to remain in roles with less responsibility

As leaders, we must be conscious that while all of our reports indicate a healthy business, it may also be true that morale is decreasing as workload is increasing, and employees may be approaching a critical tipping point. If you find that the chatter around the company is that the current pace is not sustainable, please listen to your employees.

It is important that we remember it may have been a few years since we performed all of those roles which keep our company running, so we may no longer know what is required of our teams to reach our goals. As leaders, we have sacrificed time with our families and invested into the future of our wonderful companies.......and so have our employees. Fellow leaders, let your employees be your most trusted advisors. If they can see that you are confident, driven, humble, and authentic, they will ensure your view from the top is an accurate 360 degree view.