“My old boss hated interacting with the staff,” a friend of mine recently told me. “He even bought a new coffee machine for his office just so he didn’t have to come into the kitchen and talk to us.”
Ouch.
Maybe the boss just craved caffeine? But how his team interpreted the move speaks volumes.
“My new boss is great,” my friend continued. “She cares about us. And, she’s often the first one to like our LinkedIn posts.”
Senior leaders have long had to balance managing a variety of stakeholders — from clients and partners, to vendors and employees. But in today’s digital-first, hybrid and remote work environment, there are new dynamics at play.
The term “management by wandering around” (MBWA) was popularized in the 1982 book “Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies” as a way for leaders to keep a finger on the pulse of activity and morale in their organizations. “Wandering” was intentionally used instead of “Walking” to describe the unplanned nature…
Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.
