Undercover Boss is a TV show managers and leaders should watch.
Last night CBS debuted their new program “Undercover Boss”. I think this show demonstrates something that every senior manager should do; go work side-by-side with front-line staff to see what their job really entails, and how decisions made by “management” affect everything from productivity and moral, to workplace environment and corporate culture.
This episode focused on the President of Waste Management, Larry O’Donnell, performing entry-level jobs at different WM locations. He learned how one WM site manager was docking employees 2 minutes pay, for every one minute late from lunch, how one route driver had to pee in a can, and was being “spied on” by a supervisor in a pickup truck a few blocks away, as well as meeting an employee doing the work of 3 or 4 people at an admins salary.
As a manager myself, being managed by a manager above me, I love the message this episode sends out. You should get down in the trenches with your people to see what’s going on. Sure, my boss has been where I am, and I have been where all of my designers are now…but your current role often causes you to to forget what it really takes to do the jobs on the front lines. Especially since what it takes to do that job has probably changed since you had that role.
But I think the true messages managers need to take from this TV show, is that semi-regular “catch-ups” with direct reports are simply not enough. You can’t simply meet with someone, or call their customers, to take the temperature of workplace climate or individual/team performance. Go spend the day with someone in your organization to really see what they do, and learn first-hand what they need to be most effective…not just productive.
What do you think?