Last week I was reading quick news tidbit about how Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, boogied down to Kentucky to work shoulder to shoulder with his hourly distribution center employees. No cameras, no PR, just good ol’ manual labor. We need to see more of this! Whether you’re an executive at a small or large company, you will lead better if you get down into the trenches.

I have always preached and practiced that you can’t lead if you have no dirt under your nails!  Here’s why:

1. You are much more likely to see and hear what is really happening in the front lines of your business. Company politics and the self-interests of the manager below you tend to skew reality.
2. The higher you are in the corporate hierarchy, the thinner the air and the thicker the B.S. with huge dose of brown-nosing. You can’t lead through a sulfuric fog, because the smell of it overtakes the oxygen. As Steve Blank says:  “In a startup second-hand facts are almost as useless as opinions.  Decision makers need to hear the facts first hand.”
3. People are much more likely to trust your vision and follow you, if they can see that you are willing to come down and get dirty with them and listen to their concerns and ideas.
4. Spending time in the trenches may convince you to be less reckless with the risks you take for the organization.

Fresh air is good for you – come on down!

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