1: Surround Yourself with People Who Challenge You
The last thing a leader needs is someone who always says “yes” to his or her ideas. Encourage people to challenge you openly, in public, and any way they want to; but if you have to challenge one of your employees, do the opposite. Do it in private so you don’t embarrass them or dissuade others from challenging you. The worst kind of a leader is one who dresses someone down in front of everyone to set an example for all to see. That’s just bad form, and it’s not good management style, for a CEO or any executive.
At Dial we’ve got a section on our employee survey titled “Fear and Retribution,” where people answer questions about whether or not they feel empowered to contribute and grow in the organization without fear of being criticized. The answers are important, because it’s just another way we can make sure our environment remains transparent. We want to measure how employees feelabout how open their environment is, and we want to encourage innovation without people having to worry about criticism. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. You won’t see much creativity unless you search out employees who anticipate and think differently than you do. If all you hire are people who are just like you, you won’t get much in the way of ideas that are different from, or better than, your own.