Undercover Boss Rerun Resounds with Wake-up Alarm for America's CEOs, Says Executive Coach Stephen Xavier

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Aug 30, 2010, 07:35 ET

RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- While summer's reruns may be winding down, the alarm bells continue to sound on the hit CBS series Undercover Boss. The Sunday evening program produced by Stephen Lambert follows high-level chief executives who go undercover to explore the inner-workings of their companies, and the nerves it hits are just as raw as when the series originally aired. The televised fieldwork of Undercover Boss exposes the gap that often exists between leadership and employees -- a gap that executives can bridge by a simple yet effective strategy, according to Stephen Xavier, an executive coach and author with more than 20 years of experience coaching Fortune 500 executives.

"It's impossible for a CEO to understand everyone's situation or story, considering that companies can have thousands of employees," says Xavier, America's Top Coach® (http://www.americastopcoach.com), "yet that doesn't necessarily have to be cause for alarm. Good leaders can be extremely effective if they 'manage by walking around,' meaning they observe their people working in the field at every level, interact with employees -- with or without their bosses present -- and hold weekly 'town hall' style meetings to monitor the business' pulse and employee satisfaction. This is exactly what several of the CEOs that I coach do, and, today, they're 'poster boys' for success when it comes to modeling exceptional leadership."

Xavier notes that whenever employee satisfaction surveys are conducted, "more money" rarely tops the wish list. Rather, employees rank job security, a healthy, safe work environment, and being treated respectfully above money. This is a powerful message that plays out again and again on Undercover Boss, Xavier notes. Xavier explains, "Let's face it, the issue of 'job security' is no longer just applicable to the rank and file either. CEOs and other top leaders are also on notice in this shaky economy and need to produce results, too."

"For anyone who has watched Undercover Boss, there are several simple yet critical takeaways regarding America's CEOs," Xavier says. "The Undercover CEOs and other corporate leaders have strayed too far away and become too out-of-touch with who their people are and what makes their companies function effectively."

The show points out that many decisions at the executive level fail to anticipate consequences downstream. Xavier's advice for leadership is to create a culture that fosters deeper, more meaningful engagement in the workforce, so senior leaders can make better decisions that ultimately boost the company's bottom line.

Recent Gallup Organization findings underscore the need for this approach. Gallup data on employee engagement - and disengagement - correlates to various impacts on companies, including financial consequences, now a formidable loss of $300+ billion annually.

"This monetary hit is staggering, especially considering these economically challenged times and that there's a proven strategy that helps prevent such loss," Xavier says. "While I certainly don't expect any CEO to walk the shop floor day in and day out, a significant amount of visibility on the part of the CEO has real value, and Undercover Boss demonstrates exactly that."