Undercover Boss: literal empathy

I've recently rediscovered the joy of Undercover Boss (multiple franchises globally) on TikTok and YouTube, and I binge clips whenever I'm feeling low. With my Empathy hat on, it's remarkable how this literal example of the boss walking in their employees' shoes for a period leads almost universally to AHA!! moments that benefit their company. That could be the boss that discovers how shitty their lead gen platform is, or the one that learns from the bar manager who disregards Corporate's guidance for songs staff should sing to customers and makes up her own. Each time, there's a huge lesson learned, the boss takes the learning and scales it, and it's win win.

If you're a manager reading this, when was the last time you went back to the floor and spent even just a day doing what you ask your most junior employees to do? What do you think you'd learn? If you're reluctant to, ask yourself why?

My project on Leading with Compassion in Big Tech which I completed as part of Stanford University's CCARE in collaboration with ACA’s™  Applied Compassion Training™ for Architects and Ambassadors of Applied Compassion, addressed the suffering that occurs in even the most forward-thinking corporate spaces in the form of burnout, very high stress levels, staff attrition (especially among under-represented groups), low inclusion sentiment and low well-being sentiment. The project collected then shared survey data from 500 tech employees, bringing to life which behaviors from leaders amplify suffering, and then what tactical efforts can be made to reduce it. Believe it or not, when offered options to select for 'What actions or behaviors from leaders and Google could alleviate your suffering?', 40% selected 'a step-into-my-shoes program for managers to do an IC's role for a day'. Reality TV is onto something!

And just for kicks, SNL and Adam Driver's version is perfection: watch here