As an organization scales, some leaders become skilled at managing up while being poor managers to their teams. Executives must conduct regular skip-level meetings with frontline employees to get direct, unfiltered feedback and catch these bad behaviors that would otherwise be hidden.
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Companies mistakenly bundle management with authority, forcing top performers onto a management track to gain influence. Separate them. Define management's role as coordination and context-sharing, allowing senior individual contributors to drive decisions without managing people.
To move beyond status updates in one-on-one meetings, managers should open up about their own challenges. Asking a team member for their perspective on a decision the manager is making fosters trust, shows respect, and can uncover valuable insights you hadn't considered.
To maintain a flat, hands-on engineering culture without dedicated managers, Fal replaces traditional one-on-ones. They feel 1-on-1s can force negativity and instead use small group discussions with mixed tenure and roles. This format fosters more constructive, solution-oriented conversations rather than simple complaint sessions.
Bridgewater's famed "radical transparency" initially failed because it was a top-down mandate for criticism. The key shift was focusing the "arrow of transparency and feedback up rather than down." The system now prioritizes leaders receiving critical feedback, as arrogance at the top is far more destructive than among junior staff.
To avoid influencing their team's feedback, leaders should adopt the practice of being the last person to share their opinion. This creates a psychologically safe environment where ideas are judged on merit, not on alignment with the leader's preconceived notions, often making the best decision obvious.
The most effective way to build strategic alignment is not top-down or bottom-up, but 'inside-out.' Engage middle managers (Directors, VPs) first, as they have crucial visibility into both executive strategy and the daily realities of their teams and customers, making them the strongest initial advocates for change.
A top-performing CEO adapted the board practice of an "executive session." He periodically removes himself from his own leadership meetings and asks an HR leader to gather candid feedback on his performance. This powerfully models vulnerability and a commitment to continuous improvement for the entire organization.
To prevent resentment in high-pressure teams, implement a scheduled forum for fearless feedback, like a "Sunday SmackDown." This creates a predictable, safe container for airing grievances—personal or professional. By separating critique from daily operations, it allows team members to be open and constructive without the awkwardness or fear of disrupting morale, thereby preventing small issues from escalating.
To get truthful feedback, leaders should criticize their own ideas first. By openly pointing out a flaw in their plan (the "ugly baby"), they signal that criticism is safe and desired, preventing subordinates from just offering praise out of fear or deference.
Bypass C-suite gatekeepers by interviewing lower-level employees who experience the problem daily. Gather their stories and pain points. Then, use this internal "insight" to craft a highly relevant pitch for executives, showing them a problem their own team is facing that they are unaware of.
