Summary

CEOs are urged to communicate transparently and respectfully with their employees, avoiding corporate jargon and actively listening to their workforce's insights and concerns.

Abstract

The article emphasizes the importance of CEOs engaging with their employees as adults who possess expertise and contribute significantly to the business. It criticizes the overuse of corporate babble and encourages direct, honest communication, especially during challenging times. The piece suggests that CEOs should be straightforward about potential layoffs and other critical issues, fostering a culture of open dialogue. It also highlights the necessity for CEOs to actively listen to their employees, bypassing managerial filters, to gain valuable insights that can only be obtained from the workforce. Furthermore, the article calls for CEOs to demonstrate commitment to diversity, pay equity, and work-life balance through tangible actions rather than mere rhetoric. It stresses the importance of addressing workplace misconduct decisively and admitting to mistakes, thereby earning employees' respect and fostering an environment conducive to intelligent risk-taking and loyalty.

Opinions

CEOs often communicate poorly with employees, using too much corporate jargon and not respecting their intelligence and adult status.
Employees are capable and deserve to be treated with respect, involved in discussions about the company's challenges, and given straight talk.
The use of buzzwords in corporate communication is ridiculed, with "Buzzword Bingo" cited as an example of how such language is mocked by employees.
CEOs should be transparent about company uncertainties, potential layoffs, and other significant developments, trusting employees to handle the truth.
Listening to employees without managerial interference is crucial for gaining unfiltered insights and making informed decisions.
CEOs must act on promises related to diversity, pay equity, and work-life balance, reflecting these values in the company's

Straight Talk Required

Dear CEOs: Stop Patronizing Your Employees

You hired us to think. Don’t be surprised when we do.

CEOs have spent more time communicating with their employees in these corona months than in the past few years. Internal messages, press releases, town hall meetings: they are using every trick in the book. Most of them are doing it badly.

CEOs consistent forget a basic fact about the workforce: employees are adults. We run our lives, families and friendships without management instructions. Some of us are world experts in our fields. All of us help you to run a business. And yet CEOs repeatedly refuse to treat us with the respect we deserve.

Blah Blah Blah

Corporate babble is the norm at company meetings and emails. Overused words mean nothing, and people who insist on using them quickly become the butt of jokes.

Buzzword Bingo, also known as Bulls##t Bingo, is the hottest game going. Everyone brings a card listing the company’s hot buzzwords, and ticks off each one as someone uses it. My card includes boxes for collaboration, best practices, best-in-class, customer focus, and my personal favorite, work smarter not harder. Once someone completes a line on the card, they shout ‘Bulls##t!’ and win whatever is in the pot.

Don’t become a punchline

Treat us with respect. Speak plainly. Don’t use buzzwords. Make it worth our time to give you our precious attention.

We know these are strange days; we’re living in them too. We’re adjusting to the same uncertainties. Remember that when you speak to us. If you think layoffs might be coming, say so. If we as the employees can do anything to help make those layoffs less likely, say so. We’re already thinking about it, so give it to us straight. We can take it.

Stop Talking

You have two ears and one mouth. Use them accordingly.

Photo by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash

Better yet, shut your mouth and listen. Yes, your employees need information from you. Your decisions can change their lives, for better or worse.

But too many CEOs are always telling.

They don’t listen, so they don’t hear critical information that can only come from employees. Are your work-from-home policies working? Which of your managers is rising to the challenge? Which is failing, and can they be helped? We know. If you listen to us, you will know too.

Talking with your executive team won’t cut it. They will curate information to their own advantage. Perhaps you’ve made it clear that bringing unwanted news is a good way to get fired.

I don’t blame them for looking after their own careers.

Hold your meetings with people further down the chain, without their managers. Do more asking and listening than telling. Ask how your decisions affect our ability to do our work well. Listen to our answers.

We are intelligent, thoughtful people. That’s why you hired us. Don’t ignore us now.

Be the Change Maker

As CEO, you set expectations; now live up to them. Stop talking about diversity, pay equity, work-life balance and what a great place your company is for career progression. Put your money where your mouth is. Consciously put more women, more people from different cultures, ages and perspectives, into senior and mid-level leadership. If that means instituting quotas, so be it. Your employee population should reflect your local customer base.

Stop bad behavior in its tracks. Harassment, aggression, casual discrimination: these are all part of the workplace. Management (read: you, the CEO) must come down hard on this behavior at any level. Ignoring it won’t make it go away.

Policies are not enough. Words are meaningless. Employees watch your actions.

If your closest ally, or designated successor, or anyone else is caught breaking the core cultural rules, punishment must be swift and meaningful. Serious offenders must be shown the door, minus their golden parachutes.

‘Do as I say, not as I do’ won’t get you anything but our scorn. If you don’t take action, you’re just spouting more blah-blah.

Speak the Ugly Truths

Lying is just as inexcusable in CEOs as it is in children. Share important information and answer questions forthrightly. Admit that not all of your decisions work out perfectly. When you make a mistake, say, ‘we got this wrong. We expected the market to do X, and it did Z. Here’s what we’re doing to adapt.’ We will respect you far more, help you recover, and be more willing to take intelligent risks, if you acknowledge your mistakes.

This extends to your numbers, too. Whether it’s sales performance or salaries, everyone’s talking about them anyway. Don’t lie to us about whether the business is profitable, or if we are up for sale, or whether employee salaries are in line with the industry norms. Definitely don’t lie to us about pay discrimination. We already know.

CEOs, your employees are adults, not children. Don’t tell us fairy tales about white knights and dragons. We can see beyond our desks. We have choices, even in these difficult times. You must work to keep your best employees. Floods of emails and video clips telling us that you care won’t do it. Money alone won’t do it. Straight talk and good listening, followed up by action, just might.