Would You Fight to Keep Your CEO? Supermarket Workers Offer Leadership Lesson
J.T. O'Donnell
Founder & CEO, Work It DAILY | Board of Directors & CMO, McCoy | Career & Professional Development | Job Search | HR & Recruiting | Employer Branding | Recruitment Marketing | Talent Management | Executive Coaching
I live in New England where an amazing demonstration of employees supporting their leader is occurring - right now.
For those of you that haven't seen it, employees of the 71 grocery stores that make up the MarketBasket supermarket chain are picketing and fighting to get the CEO they adore back to work. Known as, "Arthur T." to the employees, he was ousted by the company's board recently. Employees love and respect the ex-CEO who knew everyone by name, paid fair wages, and was known for always doing the right thing for staff. He had a reputation for being a 'people before profits' leader. Now, the employees want him back, and they are going to great lengths to do so. [You can read an on-going account of the story here.]
As I've read the stories around Arthur T. and his leadership style, I see three things he's done to earn this type of support:
1) Make them feel safe. It's not just about the profit-sharing, investment in education, and promotion from within benefits. There are stories of how Arthur T. has gone out of his way to help employees who are down on their luck. His desire to connect and support staff has helped them to feel part of a company that takes care of their own. [I can relate to this personally. This story shares how one CEO taught me the importance of this leadership trait.]
2) Be transparent. Honesty is key. Arthur T. kept employees informed, helping them to understand the importance of their work. They knew how their performance impacted the success of the company.
[KEY OBSERVATION: Arthur T. doesn't fall into any of the '4 Types of Male Co-workers that Frustrate Women' - which is part of the reason for his high approval rating.]
3) Focus on building a company that employees are proud to be a part of. In our area, MarketBasket is known for offering lower prices on groceries. At the same time, they've recently renovated many of the stores. A nice shopping experience and affordable groceries is something the staff can be proud of.
In a time where the news is overrun with stories of CEOs and management teams being out-of-touch with employees, Arthur T. and his supporters are a wonderful reminder that we can build businesses today that have good employee-employer relationships.
What Comes First... Leaders Who Care? Or, Employees Who Inspire Caring Leadership?
I think most business owners and CEOs would love to have a staff that adored them as much as Arthur T.'s staff. However, many aren't feeling like his approach would pay off.
When I speak to managers and business owners these days, I often hear the following, "Employees have no idea how hard I work and how much is invested to keep this business going so they have jobs." Leaders of companies of all shapes and sizes are frustrated by what they feel is a lack of understanding as to what it takes to keep a business in business. I can see why it could be difficult for some leaders to step up and invest in the long-term strategy that Arthur T. nurtured his entire career. We live in in the instant gratification, on-demand era - and leaders are part of it. Some just don't have the patience or confidence in the outcome needed to put that kind of effort in to it. Not when, "better, faster, cheaper" is the business mantra of our century.
So, I want to ask a different question:
Is there something employees can do to inspire leaders to want to be more like Arthur T.? I'd love to hear your comments below.
P.S. - Have we met yet? First, thanks for reading my article! I have the privilege of being the CEO of CareerHMO.com. Besides writing for LinkedIn, I also write column for INC Magazine is called "Workplace Referee." I invite you to CLICK BELOW on some of my most popular articles:
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Project Coordinator
8yI only shop Market Basket when I am in New England!!
Enterprise Software, Management (Consulting, Coaching, Marketing, Training, DevOps), Agile Project Delivery
9y"Servant Leadership" is a trait that comes from within. As the old saying goes, "Managers do things Right. Leaders do the Right Things." Execs asking employees to inspire them to lead is... not a sign of Leadership. If you want to be a leader whose people will follow you through fire, there's only one rule to be guided by, every day. It's called The Golden Rule. Arthur T. clearly understands this... while the other execs surveyed do not.
Manager - Applications at Molina Healthcare
9yResponsibility is one of those rare elements that flows uphill, and it looks like Arthur T. understands that. The employees of MarketBasket are fortunate that the gentleman brought to the table the qualities all leaders should bring to their responsibilities. As for what can employees do to inspire their leaders? The best way to teach is by example so if they imitate Arthur T. some of it may just rub off quietly on those upstream that may benefit from the example. Kudos to the employees of Marketbasket and good fortune to Arthur T. Barry
Owner: Organic & Holistic Pet Food Business | Animal Advocate | Author | Creator of Empowering Journals | Christian Faith Based Podcaster
9yMy personal and professional motto is "people first and then money". We live in a world of about me...me...me...hungry and thirsty for money. It's not about you anymore. If you want to succeed in life you have to help people. If I were in Arthur T shoes as a CEO I would do the same thing...people first and then money. I will take a HUGE risk and be willing to get ousted or getting FIRED by the board of directors to do the right thing. Because I like to sleep at night in peace.