Once upon a time corporate leadership was about setting a goal and demanding the company follow the boss’s top-down orders or fear capricious discipline. A lot of great companies were built that way a century ago, but not many of them have survived to the present, and fewer still continue to have an autocratic management system. In the modern global marketplace, productivity and competitive advantage depends on an educated and engaged workforce contributing their best efforts. Management enjoys an honest and open rapport with the people working for them and with them. They seek to attract top talent while holding onto their existing team by giving them opportunities to grow personally and professionally. They inspire their team to make their company’s goals a shared vision, and then they give them the resources they need to succeed together.

Here are a few questions to ask about yourself and your business:

  • How often do you talk to the people in your organization outside your immediate circle?
  • Do you know what your direct reports want to do with their working lives?
  • How comfortable would you be if someone from your team came to you with a new idea for how work should be done, and do you think your team would feel comfortable approaching you with that new idea?

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Geoff Micks
Head of Content & Research
Executive Platforms

Geoff joined the industry events business as a conference producer in 2010 after four years working in print media. He has researched, planned, organized, run, and contributed to more than a hundred events across North America and Europe for senior leaders, with special emphasis on the energy, mining, manufacturing, maintenance, supply chain, human resources, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, finance, and sustainability sectors. As part of his role as Head of Content & Research, Geoff hosts Executive Platforms’ bluEPrint Podcast series as well as a weekly blog focusing on issues relevant to Executive Platforms’ network of business leaders.

Geoff is the author of five works of historical fiction: Inca, Zulu, Beginning, Middle, and End. The New York Times and National Public Radio have interviewed him about his writing, and he wrote and narrated an animated short for Vice Media that appeared on HBO. He has a BA Honours with High Distinction from the University of Toronto specializing Journalism with a Double Minor in History and Classical Studies, as well as Diploma in Journalism from Centennial College.