“Management by sitting around” gives CEOs a direct, unfiltered view of their organization. By listening closely to working-level employees and acting on what they hear, leaders can surface issues faster, spot emerging talent, and build a culture of openness and accountability.
You’ve probably heard of the well-known management practice of “management by walking around.” A fascinating variant I discovered during a conversation with a local CEO is something I call “management by sitting around.”
Creating Direct Access to the CEO
This CEO, newly installed at the helm of a struggling 40-person company, instituted a “mini-ops” meeting to accelerate his understanding of the business and establish his relationship with employees. During these meetings, all working-level staff, from the receptionist to developers, deliver an update to the CEO with their colleagues as a silent audience. The management team is also required to simply sit and listen.
Everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame, presenting just 3 slides: a summary of the past period, plans for the current period, and challenges they face. In a company with 25-30 non-management presenters, the meeting takes a full day. The mini-ops reviews started out monthly but as the company stabilized moved to a quarterly pace.
What Happens When Leaders Listen
At first, many employees were terrified and resistant. It was the first time many of them had ever presented (let alone to the CEO!). But for the chief executive, it was a way to see potential leaders in action, have issues raised more directly, and keep a sugarcoating management team honest.
The CEO sets the tone for these meetings by remaining relentlessly positive and focusing on opportunities for improvement. He admitted that the first couple of sessions were a bit rocky, but before long the bad news and big opportunities began to surface. This was exactly the stuff he wanted to hear.
To sustain this openness concrete action must be taken on issues that are raised. Just because you’re sitting around, doesn’t mean you can be passive.
Cultural Benefits Beyond the Meeting Room
As an added benefit, open communication also breaks down organizational barriers. The CEO recounted that after the office manager presented a couple of times, the office gradually grew cleaner. Everyone began doing their part to keep things tidy.
All-staff presentations become unwieldy once the company reaches about 50 people. At this point, splitting the meeting between senior executives and employee groups might be a more effective. Also consider other informal variations on “management by sitting around”. For example, this CEO described how he occasionally joins some of his staff in the lunchroom while they play cards. There’s no business talk allowed but somehow if there’s an issue, it still manages to get raised.
When Sitting Around Works Best
The principle of giving working-level employees a direct channel to leadership is sound. However, it cannot be treated as a symbolic gesture. If leaders do not act on what they hear, communication quickly becomes filtered and cautious.
It may be less exercise, but Enlightened managers may discover that sitting around with their staff can be just as effective as more active leadership approaches, especially when trust, transparency, and accountability are the goal.
Leading an organization means finding the right balance between visibility, listening, and decisive action. Stratford’s CEO Advisory services support leaders as they navigate growth, cultural change, and complex decision-making. If you are looking for a more effective way to engage your team and gain clearer insight into your organization, we can help.
This article was published more than 1 year ago. Some information may no longer be current.