To succeed in upper management, consider walking in the shoes of your lower-level workers.
Scott Moorehead, Carolyn Kibler and Don Fertman did exactly that at different stages of their careers. They gleaned potent insights that made them more effective leaders and authentic communicators.
Such lessons could hasten your advancement, too. Facing increased turnover during the recovery, businesses have resumed grooming executives with such skills, leadership experts say.
When Mr. Moorehead finished college and joined his family’s business Moorehead Communications Inc. in 2001, his parents forced him to spend a year working briefly in nearly every job–including delivery-truck driver. Holding 32 positions for a half a day to three weeks per job “made me a very employee-centric CEO,” says Mr. Moorehead, who took command in 2008. The company, which does business as the Cellular Connection, became the biggest U.S. dealer for Verizon Wireless phones and services in 2010. (Finish Article)