Having culled years of leadership wisdom for his weekly New York Times “Corner Office” column, Adam Bryant knows what it takes to be a great CEO. In the following six videos, Bryant outlines the simple but profound principles that help employers and employees align goals, hear each other out, and strengthen their shared corporate culture.
1.) Here, Bryant discusses the things, that if done well, have a positive (or negative) impact on office culture. Once those items are clearly defined, work can move away from internal politics.
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Adam Bryant: The Two Kinds of Company Culture
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2.) We need an “external scoreboard” to really see how employees are doing, says Bryant. For performances to be objectively measured, CEOs must provide employees with a standard metric that can be understood by all.
3.) What exactly are “company values” and how necessary are they? Well, says Bryant, for starters—pick ones that can be easily remembered if anyone asks what they are.
4.) We expect a lot of our colleagues, but as Bryant notes—being the boss doesn’t automatically mean excellent management. Respect moves two ways, just as accountability does. The upshot is mutual trust.
5.) Difficult conversations come up in any office context. But navigating them gets a little bit easier if you take Bryant’s advice: explain and address a problem from the perspective of how it affects you. Don’t make assumptions, he says. “Stay on your side of the net.”
6.) We all think that e-mail makes all our communications faster and easier, but here, Bryant tells us the opposite. Sometimes the quickest and most effective way to explain something is on the phone or in person, lest we become “archaeologists” of our in-boxes.
