Want to be the World's Best Boss? Take a Walk

The holiday season is a time of cognitive dissonance, in that we simultaneously eat to the point of gluttony while plotting our upcoming commitment to a healthy lifestyle. And, while I do try and spend time taking care of my physical self, I’ll admit that most holiday seasons find me spending far more time sampling as many high-fat, high-sugar options as I can reasonably manage. This year, however, among my gifts was a Fitbit Blaze from my wife. (For those unaware, the Fitbit is essentially a pedometer on steroids, syncing with your mobile device to provide immediate feedback on your daily distance traveled, sleep patterns, and heart rate.) Now, there are two ways to take such a gift. The first is to recognize your wife’s appreciation for your love of techie gadgets and making a choice accordingly. The second is that perhaps she feels that Sugar Plums have been dancing around your mid-section instead of just your head, and that the time has come to rectify such a situation. Either way, the last few days have found me motivated to take the occasional walk. In this post I’ll draw a parallel between the simple act of going for a walk and the three steps to becoming the World’s Best Boss.

Going for a Walk: A Bit of Background

I have a long history of going for walks, sometimes with nearly disastrous results. For while I very much enjoy striking out from my front door to wherever my destination may be, eschewing the car whenever the mood strikes, I have not been blessed with a keen sense of direction. This got me into a bit of trouble as a youth. Once, after deciding I didn’t need the help of the school bus to make it home, I wandered the streets of my home town until some kindly family thought it best to bring me in and have me call home. Later, I repeated the same feat in my grandparents’ town as I attempted to make it back from the community swimming pool unaided. That particular adventure did end with me making it to my destination, but only after hours of walking and with a very worried set of parents and grandparents. I fashioned myself a bit of a Johnny Appleseed, wandering wherever my feet happened to take me. I blame the repeated singing of ‘This Land is Your Land’ as an elementary school student for my deeply-seated and usually harmless wanderlust.

When I took my first job out of college at the now defunct Tamtron, Inc. my inability to chart a course didn’t lead me to wandering neighborhoods, but instead to being a bit of an unpredictable force in the workplace. I was, admittedly, undisciplined in both my approach and demeanor. NFL Draft Guru Mel Kiper, Jr. would have undoubtedly described me as “Raw, with a lot of upside.” I was fortunate, however, to be guided by several great leaders at Tamtron. (Steve Tablak, former Tamtron CEO, taught me the invaluable lesson of “never leaving my wingman.” But, as my wife did not buy me an F-14 for Christmas, that story doesn’t work in this post.) Bob Tablak was my boss for only a brief time while I was at Tamtron, but a management technique of his has stuck with me to this day. Whenever we had something hard to discuss, instead of sitting me down at his desk Bob would invite me for a walk through the San Jose neighborhoods by our office. The “Bob Walk” became a favorite time for me to get clarity, direction, and feedback on my work and progress. His approach felt supportive and yet also provided important and unmistakable course correction in areas where I was wandering off the path.

In reality, all employees are a little bit like me, prone to wandering off of the path when lacking clear direction. Just like during my “Bob Walks,” employees need regular opportunity for clear direction and feedback. While it is not absolutely necessary to take a physical walk with employees (although I thoroughly enjoyed it), the metaphor of taking a walk is a powerful way for us to more effectively engage and maximize our employees’ efforts. As I learned through hard experience in my youth, any good walk contains three essential elements: a clearly-defined destination, a commonly-understood starting point, and a mutually agreed-upon route forward. Let’s take a look at each of these three elements.

The Destination

A good walk begins (with a nod to Dr. Covey) with the end in mind. Understanding the destination is particularly crucial to those we lead. What is the goal? For them? For us? For the organization? While much has been written about goal-setting (admit it, you’ve attended a lot of “SMART Goal” classes), I find it most effective to simply describe a job well-done. An employee should be able to clearly recognize when a goal has been achieved. This often requires some specifics around timeframe and details around measurement. For example, a poorly-defined goal for me this coming year would be “to lose some weight.” However, if I stated that my goal is to lose 10 pounds in the coming three months, there would be little doubt as to what success in this goal looks like. The remaining information about a goal (its relevance to the organization, etc.) is part of a discussion as you introduce the goal. That discussion becomes important fodder for conversation as you and your employee take your “walk.”

The Starting-Point

Anyone who has attempted to navigate a shopping mall understands that equally important to knowing the destination is finding the “You are Here” dot. Knowing the destination is worthless if you also do not know where you are at in relation to that destination. This, then, becomes additional critical information for your employee as you engage in your walk. Does your employee know how to do the work you are asking them to do? Do they possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to achieve the goal you have laid out for them? What do they need to get better at in order to be successful? What do they need to start doing more? Where do they need to grow? Are there any habits or behaviors that are getting in their way to arriving at a successful destination? For example, in order for me to successfully lose 10 pounds in the next month I first need to know my current weight, as well as a firm understanding of my habits that are getting in the way of that weight loss (goodbye, doughnuts) as well as the behaviors that need to become a more regular part of my routine (hello, spin-bike.) These elements become critical further discussion points as you continue your employee walk.

The Path Forward

The last, critical piece of information your employees need from you is a clear path forward from their starting point to their destination. As you have identified areas of focus and attention in discussing your employee’s starting point, the conversation should then shift to specific work they and you together must do to achieve the goals you have set out together. For some employees, depending on how far they are from the destination, you may be required to do a little more hand-holding as you walk along with them. If the path is unfamiliar and the knowledge absent, your role is to maintain close contact along the way to ensure their success. For those employees who are already expert in the work you have charted for them, your job is simply to cheer them along and stay out of their way. Regardless of where on the competence continuum your employee sits on any particular goal, it is absolutely necessary that both of you agree upon the best path forward and each of your roles along that path.

Being a leader means giving employees the guidance, support, and direction they need to be successful. It starts with a clear understanding of the end-goal, in words that clearly articulate what success looks like. It also includes an honest evaluation of where they are at in relation to specific goals. Finally, it is the right level of encouragement, teaching, support, and guidance along the way. So, as you take a look at the coming New Year, I encourage you to work with your employees and take a walk.