Know your business
Ott’s main keys to collaborative leadership are communication and
understanding. He says communication is important because as a
leader, you’re just not able to know everything and understand every
aspect of your organization. So, you have to rely on those around you
who have the same passion and the same vision and insight that you
do.
Constant communication helps make sure the vision isn’t being
diluted, and it also allows Ott’s employees to pitch ideas to him —
or give advance warning of any upcoming problems.
So, communication and understanding go hand in hand. However,
listening to your direct reports talk about your business isn’t the
same as understanding your business. As far as Ott is concerned,
there is no substitute for actually being there.
When Claim Jumper opens a new store, Ott will be there. But he
won’t just be there to cut the ribbon and smile for the camera. He
may be busing tables, or you may find him on the cook’s line. He
delves deep into the operations of each new Claim Jumper because
it provides a great opportunity to communicate with his employees
and helps him maintain a solid grasp on the challenges facing his team.
“You can’t run your business from behind a desk,” he says. “If
someone brings an idea to me, and they say, ‘Hey, this is something
the guests are asking for,’ if you’re sitting behind a desk, you may not
understand the reason why. But if you’re working with the managers
and talking with the guests, they bring up examples of things that
need to be changed. Then you have a deeper understanding of why
this needs to happen and why the change needs to be made.”
All that face time with employees can cut into the other responsibilities of a CEO, but Ott says the benefits outweigh the extended
hours. He visits stores several times each week, and his discussions
with employees — from management all the way down to the
hourly workers — have a direct influence on the direction of the
company.
By making himself so accessible, Ott often finds himself stopped in
a hallway by an employee with something on his or her mind, but he
says the quality ideas you end up gathering are worth lengthening
your day.
“It can be a little bit disruptive, but it’s a good kind of disruptive,”
Ott says. “You may see a problem or hear about a problem that
might come to bite you much harder six weeks or six months from
now. You solved it ahead of time because that door was open and
someone saw something that needed to be addressed, and you
addressed it before it became a bigger issue.”
