"They offer insights I couldn't get anywhere else."

I am fortunate enough to have just about the most passionate staff in world. Ok, in an effort to have full disclosure, I heard there’s a staff at a small bakery in Portugal that is more passionate than my team. But other than those guys, I genuinely believe my staff is the best.

So I truly feel for them when I come back from a Vistage meeting as excited as a little kid leaving a toy store with a bag of new gizmos and gadgets to play with. Within seconds of my return to work, I’m usually zealously grabbing key staff members and telling them, “Drop everything and come into my office ASAP!!!”

Employees with tight deadlines to meet, love being yanked from their desk, spur of the moment, by a crazed boss with no explanation, right?

Once the crew is assembled, we discuss the newfound insights gleaned from the just ended Vistage meeting. We then make sure everything is put into action.

While I admittedly get caught up in some kind of post-Vistage glow, and fully agree that the emergency meeting in my office could have waited until the next day, my best in the world staff always obliges me. In fact, by the end of our in-house meeting, they’re often just as enthusiastic as I was originally. We’ve solved a problem, figured out how best to handle a delicate matter or received sound guidance on a tough decision.

So that gave me an idea for this month’s blog. Instead of me writing it, I’m going to have one of those aforementioned key staff members give you their thoughts on Vistage. I told them to be totally candid and I promised to sensor nothing. Even though they’ve never been to an actual Vistage meeting, my staff has unquestionable insight into the value Vistage provides. And if you read on, you’ll have some great insight, too.

So the next section you’ll be reading was written by one of my key staff members, Michelle Langlois. Take it away Michelle…

Hi, I’m Michelle Langlois, Creative Director at Spark. I come with news.
 

Right or wrong, good or bad, we staff people have an opinion on every decision our leaders make. We discuss those opinions amongst ourselves. We take sides. We debate. And you never get to hear a word of it. (Sorry, that holds true for you too, Rich.)
 

There have been decisions you’ve made that not a single person other than you agreed with. There were strategic moves you made based on asking all the wrong questions of all the wrong people. I’ll even admit there were times when you asked us our opinion on a decision and we agreed with you simply because it was the politically favorable thing to do.
 

There’s an inherent gulf in the boss-employee relationship that makes relying on staff difficult. There’s politics. There are differences in perspective. There’s sensitive information you can’t share.
 

That leads to my second bit of news. The best people to solve the dilemmas you face as a CEO are fellow CEOs. You talk straight with them and they talk straight with you.
 

That’s why I think it’s a great thing that the CEO of our company is a member of Vistage. Yes, he still relies on us for lots of help and advice but there are many situations where his best resource is Vistage. And by that I mean the other CEOs in his group. He calls them his “Unofficial Board of Directors.”

I feel that having our CEO participate in Vistage doesn’t just mean we have a better leader, it means I get to work at a better company. I enjoy my daily work life more. Most importantly, with the economy the way it is, we, as a company need every advantage we can get. I think having our CEO in Vistage gives us that edge.
 

So when Rich comes back from a Vistage meeting ready to act on a decision, I actually don’t mind that I have to put things on hold for a few minutes longer. The results are worth it. Sure, there will always be decisions we like and others we don’t, but knowing the decision was made with the combined wisdom of a dozen or more respected CEOs gives us all confidence that the decision is the best one for our organization and for us as employees.
 

So while I’ve never been to a Vistage meeting, I believe in the organization wholeheartedly. I’ve met Rich’s Group Chair, Bill Hopf and I can’t think of a better resource for our company. It’s comforting to know that an experienced business person who successfully led real companies for decades is helping us on our journey.
 

So with that, I’ll end my short tenure as a guest blogger. Just one word of advice, if you do join Vistage (which I recommend) and you come back to your office as excited as Rich does, don’t have any caffeine for the rest of the day. You’ll probably explode.
 

Thanks and good luck!


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