Editor’s note: Springfield consultant and author Marlene Chism released her second commercially published book May 5. This excerpt from “No-Drama Leadership: How Enlightened Leaders Transform Culture in the Workplace” is printed with permission by publisher Bibliomotion.In May 2013, Cheerios, a division of General Mills, produced an ad featuring a biracial family that included a white mother, a black father and their little girl, Gracie. The ad caused such a fiery spark of racial debate on General Mills’ YouTube channel that the company disabled the comment function. When Cheerios produced a second commercial with the same family to air on Super Bowl Sunday the following year, it communicated a deliberate message to the world: We value diversity, family and health.
The company also communicated a metamessage: We will not be bullied.
Major companies put a lot of conscious thought and deliberate action into what, how and when they communicate. These companies devote millions of dollars in resources and entire teams of human talent to create the right messaging to represent their brands. From the actors who play roles on TV commercials to the sound of an announcer’s voice to the exact language and music used, as well as the colors selected for the product’s packaging, the company is aiming to plant a positive memory and feeling in the minds and hearts of customers. This is called branding.
Every day, leaders send out messages that communicate to employees, vendors, strategic partners and clients who they are and what they stand for. Right or wrong, employees respond to the brands of their leaders just as they respond to the brand when they watch a Cheerios commercial. The point is, the leader is being judged every single day. The language used, the decisions made and the actions taken broadcast to the world the values, likeability and trustworthiness of the leader.
In today’s world, where every disgruntled customer has access to her own broadcast channel through social media, it is imperative for leaders at every level to gain the wisdom needed to deal with mistakes, manage complaints and understand the metamessages clients give when they are upset. OfficeMax learned a hard lesson about listening to underlying messages from customers when it purchased a database that spun out an insensitive mailing, which resulted in unwanted press.
On a cold January day, Mike Seay went to the mailbox and was shocked to see a letter from OfficeMax addressed to “Mike Seay, daughter killed in car crash, or current business.” Seay contacted OfficeMax and demanded an explanation. He got his explanation in a statement delivered by an OfficeMax associate, who said the problem was a marketing mistake that occurred because the company had purchased a list from a third party. The OfficeMax representative did not interpret the metamessage that Mike Seay did not want only an explanation, he wanted an apology. The result was unwanted media attention.
From the perspective of the company, the incident could have happened to any business that uses direct-mail marketing. But the mistake wasn’t the real problem in this case. Rather, the mistake was that once an upset Seay had called, the company representative failed to consider the customer’s perspective and his experience of the mailing piece as a painful reminder of his daughter’s death.
The representative missed an opportunity to show compassion and genuine concern. As a result, he put the brand at risk. The eyes to see – the ability to take a breath and see a different perspective – is a learned skill that can and should be taught at all leadership levels.
Developing enlightened leaders at all levels reduces some of the risk employers face every day because of the volatile combination of employees’ access to social media with their possible bad judgment, poor supervision and inadequate company policy. An employee’s fun and games can become an employer’s nightmare, as demonstrated by a Domino’s Pizza employee that posted videos of himself blowing his nose into a sandwich. Good policies are designed to communicate boundaries, but it takes enlightened leaders with perspective to determine appropriate actions that align the company’s values and the company’s brand. An enlightened leader uses communication and relationship-building skills to promote collaboration and commitment rather than contention.
Marlene Chism is a business consultant and Springfield author who has written “Stop Workplace Drama” and “No-Drama Leadership.” She can be reached at marlene@marlenechism.com.
