A few years ago, I was engaged several times to speak to the leaders of one of our nation’s largest distribution firms. This company operates 15 warehouses, each generating about a billion dollars in revenue annually.
Each location is led by a president and a vice president. These 30 individuals are invited to an “officers’ college,” held every six months at corporate headquarters and run by the corporation’s CEO.
Prior to each event, the CEO asks each person to submit a document of no more than two pages, single spaced. In this letter, they are expected to answer four questions:
1) What successes have you experienced since we last met?
2) What are the top two challenges you are facing and how can we best support you?
3) What additional courses or education would help you do your job better? (Be specific.)
4) What are the top three objectives you have for the next six months?
The CEO reviews all these letters prior to the gathering. This helps inform him of what should be addressed during the officers’ college. It also provides him with a way to connect with each of his leaders meaningfully.
In interviewing more than a dozen of these individuals as a part of my preparation, I was impressed by the positive regard they had for this process. All of them said that while they were held to a very high standard, they also received top-notch coaching and resources, coupled with the opportunity to interact with each other.
As a result, they didn’t mind the scrutiny. In fact, they enjoyed it, knowing that it was compelling them to become better leaders.
How can you adapt this approach for the leaders in your organization? You don’t have to be running a multi-billion-dollar business to make this work.