{"id":444,"date":"2011-10-19T08:00:16","date_gmt":"2011-10-19T15:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/markccrowley.com\/?p=444"},"modified":"2011-10-19T08:00:16","modified_gmt":"2011-10-19T15:00:16","slug":"undercover-bosses-all-have-the-same-epiphany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-wmplo.xyz\/mark-c-divi5\/undercover-bosses-all-have-the-same-epiphany\/","title":{"rendered":"Undercover Bosses All Have The Same Epiphany"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-445\" title=\"Undercoverboss\" alt=\"Undercover Boss Wearing Suit and Work clothes in split image\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-wmplo.xyz\/mark-c-divi5\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Undercoverboss-204x300.jpg\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" \/>If you\u2019re a leader and you haven\u2019t yet tuned in to watch <em>Undercover Boss<\/em>, I highly recommend you make it a staple.<\/p>\n<p>Just in case you\u2019ve been living in a cave over the past two years, <em>Undercover Boss \u2013 <\/em>shown Sunday nights on CBS \u2013 features a CEO or high ranking executive from a well known American company who\u2019s disguised, given an alias, and sent to work as an \u201cundercover\u201d entry-level employee in their own company.<\/p>\n<p>The undercover boss spends an entire week working side-by-side unsuspecting employees, and returns soon after to reveal his or her true identity and all they have learned about the business and front-line employees.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly 40 million people watched the premier episode of this show in 2010, and it has ranked high in the ratings every since.\u00a0\u00a0 I believe that <em>Undercover Boss <\/em>has<em> <\/em>struck a nerve with viewers who correctly assumed top level executives had a thing or two to learn about the real working lives of subordinates.\u00a0 They know first hand that leaders today are out of touch with their people \u2013 and what support they need in order to be fully engaged at work.<\/p>\n<p>To that point, what does it say about leadership today that we can disguise a CEO in a tee shirt, cap and jeans and not a single employee recognizes him in the course of an entire week?<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->Most of the bosses who go undercover end their week with the same epiphany:\u00a0 They see how connecting more with subordinates \u2013 and supporting their needs \u2013 is the greatest way of improving motivation and engagement.<\/p>\n<p>Last season, Joe DePinto, CEO of convenience store chain, 7\/11, was a typical example.\u00a0 Relying on a two-day beard to protect his anonymity, DePinto visited various company locations and showed little competency for any of the tasks his employees had mastered.\u00a0\u00a0 He spilled coffee, fell when wheeling boxes, and slowed down operations at the company bakery.<\/p>\n<p>Even though DePinto struggled with every task he was assigned, he uniquely impressed me as someone who already leads from the heart.\u00a0 Very clearly someone who knows it\u2019s his job to enable and value workers, he created a program that fosters employee career growth.\u00a0 \u201cWe have a whole pipeline of talent here,\u201d he said.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to tap into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When DePinto completed his undercover week, he revealed the most important lesson he\u2019d learned.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cOur people don\u2019t have a lot of major needs,\u201d he said.\u00a0 <em>\u201cThey want to be appreciated for what they do and recognized for their performance.\u00a0<\/em> I always knew that, but it can easily get away from you in the heat of daily business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No leader today should need a week undercover to arrive at this conclusion, of course, but almost every Sunday night I\u2019m reminded most do.<\/p>\n<p>Sharing these posts with others is cool. \u00a0Even better, ask friends (you too!) to <a href=\"https:\/\/staging-wmplo.xyz\/mark-c-divi5\/subscribe\/\">sign up here<\/a>\u00a0and receive my blog and other special gifts directly.<\/p>\n<p><em>PS: \u00a0After this article was posted, all of the social media counters on our website mysteriously reverted to zeros &#8212; and all historical share counts were lost.<\/em><strong><em>\u00a0\u00a0All links now are working!<br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re a leader and you haven\u2019t yet tuned in to watch Undercover Boss, I highly recommend you make it a staple. Just in case you\u2019ve been living in a cave over the past two years, Undercover Boss \u2013 shown Sunday nights on CBS \u2013 features a CEO or high ranking executive from a well [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,13,14],"tags":[18,44,52,54,72,73,74,100,109,127,143,166,197,222],"class_list":["post-444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifeaffairs","category-heartleadershipinpractice","category-leadership","tag-18","tag-ceo","tag-connection","tag-corporate-values","tag-employee-engagement","tag-employee-satisfaction","tag-employee-turnover","tag-heart","tag-human-performance","tag-leadership-2","tag-management","tag-productivity","tag-success","tag-undercover-boss"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Undercover Bosses All Have The Same Epiphany - Mark C. 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