Member-only story
Leadership: Listen to the Janitor ….
My friend was a little perturbed this week. She shared that during a discussion with her boss, she had proposed a solution to an issue the Group was facing but her proposal was shot down and dismissed as being short-sighted. Subsequently, at a senior management meeting, the issue was discussed and the Chairman of the meeting proposed the exact same solution my friend suggested. In this instance, her boss readily accepted the solution as if it was the best thing since sliced bread.
I burst out laughing and my laughter only further depressed her. I explained that she should not feel sad. This is a common irony with many organizations. All organizations hire the best talents. They pay good money to bring in people who are thought leaders and people who have demonstrated competency in their respective fields. But somehow, the moment these hires become part of the organization, the value of their knowledge and skill diminishes and the organization’s leaders ignore their ideas and proposals.
I apologized to my friend that I could not offer her a solution as the problem did not lie with her. But, being a leader in the organization herself, I urged her to learn from this and to always suspend judgement when ideas are shared with her, no matter whom it comes from. Even if it is from the janitor.
