Watching his employees use a new social technology, Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce.com, had an epiphany. His company had developed Chatter, a Facebook inspired application for companies that allows users to keep track of their colleagues and customers and share information and ideas. The employees had been trying it out internally, not just within their own work groups but across the entire organization.
The meeting began with the standard presentations. The managers watching them weren’t quite sure what to do. Nothing unusual happened at first. Finally, Benioff grabbed the iPad on his table and made a comment on Chatter, noting what he found interesting about what was being said and adding a joke to spice it up. Some in the room followed with a few comments, and then employees watching from their offices launched a few comments back. The snowball started rolling.
Many executives realize that they need a new playbook for this hyperconnected environment. Those who climbed the corporate ladder in silos while using a “command and control” style can have a difficult time adjusting to the new realities. Conversely, managers who try to lead by consensus can quickly see decision making and execution grind to a halt. Crafting the right leadership style isn’t easy.
Does the compensation of your direct reports depend on any collective goals or reflect any collective responsibilities?Do your direct reports have both performance and learning goals?Do you manage dynamically—forming and disbanding teams quickly as opportunities arise?Does your team debate ideas vigorously but then unite behind decisions made?Malcolm Gladwell used the term “connector” to describe individuals who have many ties to different social worlds.
Presidents and CEOs aren’t the only executives building bridges between their organizations and the outside world nowadays. Take Beth Comstock, the chief marketing officer of General Electric. She is famous for her weekly “BlackBerry Beth” blog, in which she shares what she has learned in her external role for busy GE managers. The pithy and provocative blog goes out to thousands of GE’s sales, marketing, and technology leaders.
Reckitt Benckiser, the UK-based producer of home, health, and personal care products and another top performer in our research, considers the diversity of its workforce to be one of its competitive advantages—and a key reason it has seen net income grow 17% annually, on average, from 1999 to 2010. No nationality dominates the company’s senior team. Two executives are Dutch, one is German, two are British, one is South African, two are Italian, and one is from India.