8 Ways For CEOs To Tap Their Insiders

By Jennifer V. Miller, founder, SkillSource

How much time should a CEO spend interacting with company employees versus external partners? More than you might think, according to research conducted by the Harvard Business School faculty. There is evidence interacting with “insiders” (employees and their board of directors) is more productive than interacting with people from outside the CEO’s company. The researchers noted that “for every 1 percent gain in time [that a CEO spent] with at least one insider, productivity advanced 1.23 percent.” There was no such correlation when CEOs spent time with only outsiders.

Most senior leaders would agree that staying in touch with their employee base is important. This leader-employee connection typically takes on the structured forms of town hall meetings, video broadcasts and planning sessions. But there are informal ways to stay in touch as well, often called “Management By Walking Around” (MBWA), a phrase coined in the 1980’s in the book In Search of Excellence. MBWA, the theory goes, helps senior leadership breaks down barriers that can often stymie effective communication across an organization.