CBS’ Undercover Boss: Management Is Out of Touch With Employees

Article #46

Have you seen Undercover Boss on CBS?

The reality show Undercover Boss places CEO’s undercover in their own companies to get a personal sense for what’s really going on. The CEO goes to work at an entry level or manager-in-training position, does the actual job, all the while no one except other upper leaders know his true identify.

I enjoy watching the show, it’s entertaining and titillates my intellectual curiosity about these companies.

It does point out an important reminder that one shouldn’t miss in my view: upper management often insulates itself far from reality, at least where it matters most—with employees.

Something I’m not at all surprised about from the first four episodes, is that the undercover CEO is struck by the discovery that many of the hallowed “programs and initiatives” created by top leaders, have failed to get consistently implemented across the enterprise by mid-management as well as employees.

They are truly caught off-guard to discover that their corporate “programs and procedures” are often looked on laughably, and/or with great disdain by the employees who actually do the day-in day-out work.

For example, the Hooter’s CEO episode was sad.

Cody Brooks/CEO was not only out of touch with some essential perspectives from his employees and customers, but he had failed to visit one of their more important food manufacturing facilities since taking over as CEO in 2006.

Furthermore, Brooks admittedly hadn’t been “out in the field personally” for 20 years! How can you run a company that way?

How can a CEO be that far removed from his/her people? That far separated from the daily operations?

How can one climb the ladder of success as a leader yet fail to understand the ramifications of a basic leadership tenet: that employees support mentally and emotionally what they help create, not what gets jammed down their throats!

I find employees don’t have to have say-so in everything. However, the opportunity to express ideas or concerns at important intervals (job redesign, economic changes, new direction, improvement initiatives…) is essential.

In my 24 years as an independent consultant and coach I’ve personally interviewed over 2,000 employees and supervisors in large and small businesses across the country. In my experience it’s not difficult to give employees the sense that their input matters. Perhaps even more critical is the belief that management will utilize an employee idea whenever it has merit.

Undercover Boss actually points to the root problem, demarcation. CEO’s like those depicted in the show, have intentionally separated themselves by several layers from where the action occurs with customers and employees. Think about it. If they really wanted employee input it shouldn’t take a reality show to get it.

There are two main reasons why a CEO could be that far out of touch: hubris or omniscience. Simply, they don’t value employee opinion and input highly enough—or they’d have the means in place to get it then use it.

Bottom-line: Immunization from honest dissonance as a leader leads to dangerously myopic, endogenous decision-making. The organization’s sacred cows live on as leaders control ops from a mink-lined rut. CEO’s, all leaders for that matter, must get out, get involved and get their hands dirty once in awhile if they expect to grasp reality.

Tip: Managing and influencing the contributions of frontline employees are essential factors in increasing the bottom-line.

**Do you have a comment? I’d love to hear it. Also, Subscribe to Book Chalk and get great ideas from great books that will help you motivate and lead employees. If you haven’t already, you might want to pull a sample issue.

Mark Holmes helps companies increase sales, service and employee performance. He utilizes twenty-four years of experience advising, training, and coaching some of America’s most successful small and large companies. His ideas on employee retention, employee motivation, customer service and leadership have been widely featured in major national media like FOX, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, BNET and The Wall Street Journal.