Don’t trust your colleagues

… in what top managers are like. I have heard it in basically all of the companies I work for – „Board member XY does not accept any opposing opinions.“ 🤐 And guess what – in most cases this was a myth.

Many years back I was a manager three levels below the board and I had a „special task“ – to organize a large conference of the top management levels.

During that conference the board member clashed in one of the sessions with the complete marketing management community. The spirits were low. I talked in private to the board member and gave him the feedback from the discussions. And guess what…

He was not surprised and asked me: What would you do now? 😳 I suggested to organize an open round of discussion where he would give this group of people the possibility to ventilate their frustration and anger. And he agreed.

Good top managers know exactly that they do not get the full picture and that they do not know it all. They will always listen to and learn from their employees. However, always remember, that these people are where they are for a reason – in most cases because they are incredibly smart. So make sure your point is smart and bring it across in a precise manner, because these top managers do not have time to waste.

By the way, in one company the CEO would really say „This is not what I want to hear.“ That was the signal for me to leave.

What is your experience?