Just about everybody, after entering kindergarten, will become involved in talking
about another person behind his or her back. Sometimes comments can be hurtful,
sometimes innocuous. However, if correctly
framed, “behind-the-back venting” can also be
constructive, not to mention therapeutic.
It’s a national pastime for everyone to think
that he or she is smarter than the boss. Many
times, an employee can — and certainly should
— outshine his or her superior on specific subjects. As a boss, you can be sure your people
will compare their abilities and creativity with
yours and second-guess your strategies and
practices. Therefore, I suggest that you facilitate the process so that talking behind your
back can occur more regularly, on your terms,
and be productive to boot.
There are some very simple and effective
methods to providing “employee back-talk
time.” As CEO of my Fortune 500 company, I
discovered that I could control this process by
structuring a means where all my direct
reports could have an open forum to take
their best shot at me. Early on, I created
an Operating Committee, which was
composed of my direct reports and other
key corporate managers and executives
who had to carry out company mandates
and run the place day in and day out.
I attended only one Operating Committee
meeting and made a statement that took
less than a minute. I simply said that this
would be my first and last appearance at
“your” weekly meetings and that, going forward, the group would set its own agenda. I
emphasized, however, that on every agenda
there should be “back-talk” time, during which
participants could vent their frustrations and
talk about any traditional unspeakables —
even if they reflected negatively on my leadership, decisions or capabilities. I stated that the
only thing I asked was that once the committee
thought I was making some big mistakes,
someone must be appointed to come and tell
me — with my promise of immunity from prosecution. I made it clear to the Operating
Committee members that their job was to
make me better and, to facilitate that, they
could talk about my shortcomings, real or perceived, behind my back.
Now, I didn’t just fall off a turnip truck, and I
knew that not all of the comments would be
complimentary. I approached the process in a
very Machiavellian manner, knowing that if I
could get past the bruised ego, I could become
a more effective CEO and ultimately deliver
better results for all constituents.
Each week, my people were able to identify
my errors, which were often plentiful. At times,
I observed the folks leaving the Operating
Committee meetings with a very satisfied smirk
on their faces. Why? Because they got whatever was bugging them off their chests. They were
able to compare notes, and I think, in many
cases, they realized that what might have been
festering as a big problem was, in the overall
scheme of things, not particularly significant.
Another ancillary benefit of the behind-the-back talking is that it tends to diffuse situations
that might otherwise grow to biblical proportions. This release enables the team to move on
to issues of greater importance.
There are a number of other practical ways to
foster venting in your organization. During particularly tense times, it is appropriate to excuse
yourself from a planned dinner after a day of
meetings with employees because your gut
tells you they need to have time to themselves.
It takes a certain confidence, including a
healthy ego, for the leader to foster this
process. Most of the time, when I bowed out of
a dinner with subordinates, I knew that my
employees’ ensuing collective catharsis would
give them satisfaction and refocus their efforts.
In the public arena, our country’s leaders
have all experienced a not-so-behind-their-back venting, particularly by the media, within
minutes of making a statement. Pundits would
dissect what was said right, wrong or that was
irrelevant. This ongoing safety valve has served
citizens well and provides an effective method
for public officials to gauge acceptance of their
actions and plan their next steps.
You, as a leader, can use similar “back-talk”
techniques to maintain equilibrium in your
company and reduce both petty and deep-seated distractions that impede progress.
Being a good manager means accomplishing
objectives through others. Being a great leader
means keeping the team focused and communicating with you and each other.
Politics in business and talking behind the
boss’s back aren’t always negatives, as long as
you manage the process and encourage it with
your blessing.
MICHAEL FEUER co-founded OfficeMax in 1988 with a friend and partner.
Starting with one store during a 16-year span, Feuer, as CEO, grew the company to almost 1,000 stores worldwide, with annual sales approximating $5
billion before selling this retail giant for almost $1.5 billion in 2003 to Boise
Cascade Corp. Feuer immediately launched another start-up, Max-Ventures,
a retail/consumer products venture capital operating and consulting firm
headquartered in suburban Cleveland, Ohio. Feuer serves on a number of
corporate and philanthropic boards and is a frequent speaker on business,
marketing and building entrepreneurial enterprises. Reach him with comments at [email protected].