Running like a well-oiled machine.

I recently met a CEO of an international company that felt it was important to have a certain open door policy with the staff of the company. The environment he worked to create was one of respect for each other and a community where ideas could be shared without fear of harsh criticism. In all my days as an adult in the workforce, this was a first. Clearly, this CEO had no ambitions other than to provide an environment where his staff felt welcomed and valued. It amazed me.

I think there are many times CEOs of sizable companies think they are approachable and exude a welcoming persona. I also think there are several employees that report to those same CEOs that feel overlooked, under appreciated, or insignificant. It's important that we as professionals work to close that gap. It's clear that employees that feel they have a voice within the company and respect their leadership work willingly harder for the company and are happy doing so. A company that doesn't recognize that the more content the staff are at work, the more productive they are - is a company quickly on the edge of collapse. Hiring authority are smart to recognize that happy staff plus skilled staff equals better productivity, which ultimately equals more business. Every CEO dreams of running a company like a well-oiled machine. This is the answer. How well does your machine run?