Ever Heard of MBWA?

The Leader’s Guide to Shutting Down

Conversations clam up when Sam da Boss walks into the room,.

All hands suddenly get busy when Toni the Supervisor comes around the corner.

There's people in the room but the bleachers are empty!

Leaders, take note: your people are sending you clues! What’s up with you not noticing?

Back in the old days before acronyms became the norm, there was a leadership mantra, called MBWA: “Management by Walking Around”. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

In essence, MBWA is about you as a leader paying attention to the little things that your staff do during their shift.

To pay attention, you need to get out there.

To get out there, you need to simply your own systems so that you have the time to build relationships, and correct the little things before they blow up into big things.

It’s about taking a positive, proactive and personal approach with people, so that your systems operate smoothly.

Put another way, it’s like that leaky faucet you are ignoring. You hear the drip, day after day, but don’t have time to fix it right now.

Wake Up Call

I am suggesting that MBWA leverages your organization and the results show up in black and white on your bottom line.









If you want to know what really goes on, day to day, go take a casual, relaxed walk and look for the obvious – the routine which has become invisible in your eyes. Look for what people are doing well. Pat them on the back; low time investment, zero financial cost, huge payback!

I could give you a long list of how to do MBWA right now, but I’m assuming that all you need is a gentle wake up call.

Pay attention to what happens in your staff meetings: if you talk more than anyone else, you’re failing at MBWA.









If you’re staff say there are no rumours floating around, you are out of the loop.









If your middle managers don’t remember their 6 top goals for this month without looking through the policy manuals, you’re failing at MBWA.









If your front line staff can’t tell you who your 6 best customers are, you need to send me an email and ask for the “HOW TO DO MBWA” list. Consider me your Coach on Call. I’ll gladly share that with you, and guide you through your first walkabout.









PS Check out the archives and the whole Idea Du Jour List.




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Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine