Taking a lead from the CEO

Paul Goodison's comment about his experience with a Sainsbury's manager fuelled a conversation with my wife and sister this weekend. Between us, we have had good and bad experiences with suited managers at Sainsbury's.

My sister and I have both experienced a huddle of managers obscuring the product we want to buy, too busy talking about "important management stuff" to notice that they were in our way. My wife, on the other hand, while carrying our baby daughter in a sling, was approached by a manager to find out which aisle she was headed for next; he then ran to fetch a trolley with a child seat so he could meet her there.

What's to be learned from these contradictory experiences? Managers, whether they realise it or not, have a highly visible role and they have to exemplify the conduct they expect from the rest of the team.

The point is illustrated by this story, which my brother heard at a business conference; unfortunately, he can't say whether this is about Justin King or a previous Sainsbury's CEO. In any event, it's a good story about leading by example.

The Sainsbury's CEO employs an executive coach. The coach tells the CEO that his every move is closely watched by colleagues and that they take their lead from CEO, whether the CEO realises it or not.

To prove it, the coach proposes an experiment. He hands a copy of The Grocer to the CEO. The rules of the experiment are that the CEO is simply to keep the magazine visible whenever he is in the company of a Sainsbury's employee, but he is not to talk about it and he is to deflect questions if anyone asks him about it. 

For two weeks, the CEO carries round a copy of The Grocer magazine.

At the next meeting, the coach asks the CEO how the experiment has gone. The CEO says: No-one commented on it, no-one questioned it, no-one even appeared to notice it. They listen to what I say, but you are wrong: they don't watch my every move.

The coach then drops a bombshell: Sainsbury's employees had taken out 400 new subscriptions to the Grocer during the previous two weeks.

People do take their lead from their managers. So every time a Sainsbury's manager ignores a customer, that sends a message to other staff that the customer is not important. Conversely, every time a manager takes the time and trouble to anticipate the needs of a customer and does his or her best to help, the other staff notice and raise their game.

Anyone in a leadership position, at Sainsbury's or elsewhere, needs to be aware that their staff are watching.

Are the suits leading by example at your local Sainsbury's?