A lot of people have a mental image of the average president or
CEO. He sits in his corner office, reading reports, signing documents and making policy changes, completely aloof and out of
touch with what’s happening beneath him in his company.
David Boyle doesn’t want to be that guy.
“I think the view of many people is that the CEO just sits in his
office and doesn’t really add much value to the company,” says
the president of National City Bank’s Michigan and Northwest
Ohio region, a 4,000-employee segment of the Cleveland-based
regional banking giant. “That’s not the image I want to portray. I
want to portray that I’m a very engaged, accessible person. I
think that when employees see that the CEO is every bit as
engaged as they are, it builds that engagement within the company. People don’t just view you as nonvalue-added.”
It’s the driving reason behind why, since rising to his post more
than a year ago, Boyle has strived to become a kind of servant CEO,
connecting his company to the communities of southeast Michigan
through public service projects, hitting the road to meet employees
and customers alike and trying to drum up business for his sales
staff at every turn.
Boyle says you don’t stop being the CEO of your company when
you head home for the night. Everywhere you go, the store, the
gym, the golf course, is another opportunity to connect your company to the community around you and meet new potential customers.
“I’m always trying to bring in business, whether it’s at the grocery
store or at the barber shop, I’m always trying to find a way to come
into work and tell someone, ‘Hey, I have a lead for you,’” he says. “I
want them to know that I’m thinking about their business. That
engagement will build morale because your employees will see that
the team is working together, that the leader is willing to roll up his
sleeves and work with the team. That is crucial to the success of a
company.”