Key Point: If you were asked to rate your direct leader based on whether you would want your best friend or adult child to work for them, would it be thumbs up or down? What about if the same question was asked regarding you? Now write down or think of one succinct phrase to describe the essence of that leader. What would others write about you?
Inc. Magazine published an article noting that Glassdoor recently released a listing of the highest ranked U.S. CEOs based on employee feedback.
According to Inc, “While every CEO in this group has their warts, this prestigious group has managed to be human while still winning the hearts of their employees. The following is a representative sampling of Glassdoor employee feedback on why these CEOs — and the cultures they’ve created — top the most ‘admired.’”
- “Bob Bechek – Bain and Company
Bob holds his people accountable but never leaves them alone. He never lets his employees fail.
- Scott Scherr – Ultimate Software
Scott takes care of his employees — and their families — so they in turn feel proud and empowered to take care of their customers.
- Dominic Barton – McKinsey & Company
Dominic provides flexibility in the way his employees work, so long as they take ownership for the results.
- Mark Zuckerberg – Facebook
Mark maintains a spirit of openness — from secret projects to business metrics. Anything and everything is on the table for discussion.
- Jeff Weiner – LinkedIn
Jeff emphasizes career development and company advancement. Every employee is asked a to plan their “next play.”
- Marc Benioff – Salesforcew
Marc has his employees spend 1 percent of their time giving back to their communities and charities of choice.
- Sundar Pichai – Google
Sundar makes it a practice to allow employees to work on virtually anything they find interesting.
- Tim Cook – Apple
At Apple, Tim makes sure employees receive effective coaching, but never let’s his employees feel battered or belittled.
- Joseph Sivewright – Nestlé Purina PetCare
When others are cutting back, Joseph invests in tools, resources and training to help his employees become their best selves.
- Jim Whitehurst – Red Hat
Red Hat is for geeks, and Jim rewards “hackers” — the lifeblood of his organization.”
When you read the above, some common themes emerge: Deep caring and coaching for the success of others, providing employees autonomy and room to fully contribute, investing in people above all else, transparency and openness, being self-accountable and expect the same from others.
Character Moves:
- Evaluate your personal leadership environment regarding the “Glassdoor 4 Leadership Themes”: Autonomy, care, self-accountability, and transparency. Where can you get better?
- What micro or big bold steps might you take to advance each of these four leadership elements? If living these values work for the top CEOs in the U.S., why wouldn’t they work for you?
People first in the Triangle,
– Lorne
One Millennial View: What a helpful article. I think sometimes people in the work force put these top companies and CEOS on an unattainable, unrealistic pedestal. Almost as though the care, autonomy, self-accountability and transparency is only offered at these top tier places, like that Ivy league school you were never going to get into. There’s no rule that says you can’t expect the same from your leaders, and practice these virtues yourself, just because you’re not walking into a Fortune 500 company every day.
– Garrett
Edited and published by Garrett Rubis