Page Title

Where's Waldo?

August 5, 2003

"People like to have a sense of what their leaders do.  They don't necessarily want to know in detail - they've got their own jobs to contend with.  But keeping in touch with leadership is useful and reassuring.  'CEO sightings' for example, typically generate good, positive employee buzz, especially if they're managed with some frequency and consistency.

Leadership presence can be communicated even when leaders are not present.  That's good news, because leaders who are perpetually out of sight can prompt all kinds of less-than-charitable speculation and rumors about want they're doing (and what they're up to).  We've seen several measures leaders have taken to prevent the kind of speculation that ultimately erodes leadership credibility.  As a leader, taking the initiative to let people know when you're out of town is a nice 'heads up.' It also helps to build cohesiveness in the workplace (Mai & Akerson, 2003, p. 82)."

Reference:  Mai, R. & Akerson, A.  (2003).  The leader as communicator: strategies and tactics to build loyalty, focus effort, and spark creativity.  New York: AMACOM.

Are you communicating your leadership presence?

The 1001 Rewards & Recognition Field Book  is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center.  A complete listing of all the Leadership Center's resources is available on our website http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu/

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Created: 2008-12-22, Updated: 2009-01-09