In this post I want to surface a quote from Vineet Nayar, who is the Chief Executive Officer of HCL Technologies Ltd., a leading global IT services company. His quote appeared on the January 30 , 2009 HarvardBusiness.org website, as part of his “10 Mantras for Emerging Leaders in 2009” presentation, and reads as follows, “We need to break down the walls of hierarchy, for our future role as leaders is not about leading from the top, but co-innovating at the front lines.”
This is a discussion that seems to surface periodically and, for me, always drives to the same conclusion … leaders need to get out of the corner office as much as possible and spend time with those whom they lead. Many of us fall into the trap of becoming chained to our desks, or at the very least thoroughly networked with only a handful of direct reports. We altogether miss direct input from the vast majority of the people we lead … the people most in the trenches. And that opens the door to basing decisions on the input of the few who are closest to the leader, input that can be based on a very limited view of things.
In Nayar’s sharing he went on to emphatically say that “we need to demolish the CEO office.” Obviously, he did not intend that we should take a sledgehammer to office walls, but he couldn’t have been clearer that effective CEOs are those who routinely spend time with those whom they lead. Leading from the office diminishes both the journey and the intended accomplishment.
Being one of those who tends to get tethered to the computer and phone, I fully understand and agree with what he is telling us. If you lead from the office, your view of the big picture is greatly diminished or clouded at the very best. If you lead from the office, your circle of input is not what it needs to be for the richest decision making to occur. And if you lead from the office, the creativity that emerges from the diversity of experiences and opinion that one receives from those who reside within the trenches is simply not there.
Nayar’s is indeed a mantra that all leaders should be stamping on the back of both hands … lead from the trenches. Know those whom you lead, continuously seek-out their thinking, and make leadership a shared experience. In the process, you will evolve more than rich decision making … you will evolve a thoroughly engaged and dedicated following.
Author Cross-references:
Vineet Nayar: None
Key Word Cross-references:
Communication/Effective Speaking: Also see posts 12/12/08, 5/17/09, 6/26/09, 7/7/09, 9/9/09, 11/20/09, 12/5/09, 1/4/10, 1/29/10, 2/24/10
Tags: Leadership
on Leadership ... by Steven Davis, CAE 
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