Get Out And See For Yourself

Talk is cheap!” I'm sure you've all heard that before. It's a familiar expression. “Actions speak louder than words!” That's another trite quote straight from the mouth of Confucius.

Yet both of these sayings are genuine nuggets of good advice to any corporate executive. Why? Because we live in a fishbowl, under the constant inspection of every subordinate. Our actions reflect our character, and they set the tone for those around us.

Think about it. When we walk into a room with a smile, our employees relax; when we storm in with a scowl, they know to lie low.

“Actions speak louder than words!” also applies to our leadership styles. Saying that you care for your employees and that you promote good working conditions with reasonable assignments might sound good. But how do they know you mean it? How do they know that you understand their daily problems?

One way is to get out there “in the field” and see for yourself. Of course, many executives think that they already do this on a regular basis...but only on sales calls with salespeople. What about the other aspects of your business? When was the last time that you pumped cylinders? Stocked shelves? Counted inventory? Took telephone orders? Or delivered cylinders?

I can't claim that I have done all of these chores recently, but every year I do make an effort to “hit the road” and deliver cylinders with my drivers.

Wally Brant rolls cylinder-for-cylinder with Scott Amburn (left), a driver for Indiana Oxygen's Muncie branch.

Working the Road
Nearly every year since 1979 when I joined Indiana Oxygen, I have tried to set aside entire days—not just a couple of hours—to work the road. (My best year was 2001 when I spent 15 days with 15 different drivers.) I feel it is important to demonstrate that I am willing to experience every facet of their duties. I wear the driver's uniform. I try to roll cylinder-for-cylinder with the driver at each delivery. And, unless a customer truly needs to know my identity, I simply perform as a “driver trainee.” That way, I often hear and experience the true manner in which our service, our people and our products are received.

For example, during one delivery to a national restaurant chain, the dockman receiving the delivery barked orders and made threats during the entire delivery. Nothing we did pleased him. He treated us like convicts. Yet our driver kept a smile. Once I was back in the truck I asked the driver if that kind of behavior was encountered often. “More often than anybody would guess!” was his reply. I assume some people feel they are at the bottom of the pecking order, and we are the only subordinates for him to boss around.

Working side-by-side for an entire day brings additional benefits. It allows terrific one-on-one time to get to know each other. The usual pattern that I follow is this:

Often these experiences follow the same pattern: For the first hour, the driver tries to open my door for me and nervously converses (if he speaks at all). After about an hour, the driver relaxes and he's telling me all sorts of ways that he would improve the company if he was the boss (some ideas are pretty good, too!). By mid-afternoon, the driver is so comfortable he sometimes shares personal experiences. Finally, at the end of the day, I have someone take a picture of the two of us together and make sure he gets a copy. (How many employees have YOUR picture taken with just them?)

If your intentions are sincere, your employees will know it and appreciate it. On the other hand, if you're just trying to “play truck driver” or you really don't want to get your hands dirty, they'll figure it was all just a PR stunt.

Hit the road once in a while with your employees. There are valuable tips to be learned, experiences to be shared, and team familiarity (and loyalty) to be earned in the process!