The other day, someone sent me a YouTube link of Key & Peele’s skit on Comedy Central called “Undercover Boss.” Because it was the comedic genius of Key & Peele in addition to my interest in business and leadership, I was excited to take a look at the #BOSSREVEAL in its full hilarity.
In this skit, unbeknownst to the employees of Mofield Floor Covering, Don (Jordan Peele) was disguised as a “new employee” in his own company for a week. One employee who was working closely with Don, Joseph Carlisle (Keegan-Michael Key), was very colorful, boorish and unrelenting in his jokes and banter with the new hire before Don made an impromptu announcement to his colleagues.
Surprisingly, Don announced that he was actually the President of Mofield Floor Coverings and not a new employee. Shocked, once Joseph witnessed that Don was actually the president of the company, he immediately began apologizing and explaining his behavior to Don in front of the employees. However, Joseph became quickly frustrated that the president was not listening to him because Joseph was rude to him the entire week.
Meanwhile, while Joseph was comically pleading all the reasons to keep his job and, perhaps, get a raise, Don shared how he was touched by the individual stories of his employees while working alongside them. Bill Tackett received a new vehicle because his car broke down and he was having trouble commuting to work. Another employee, Eleanore Davis, was concerned about her long-term ability to fund college for her sons, so Don started college funds of $10k each for her college-bound scholars. Don openly related to Betty Burns about his father passing away, too.
The End.
This Key & Peele skit was definitely meant to be an amusing take on CBS’s “Undercover Boss.” However, the premise of the show, which first premiered on the network in 2010, documented real-life C-suite executives leaving the confines of their corporate offices to work with entry-level employees. During this time, they would be able to learn more intimately about their business operations, workplace spirit, employee morale as well as understand the true nature of how employees feel about the company and its management/leadership. After their undercover guise concludes, the bosses reveal their real identity and recap their unique experience through stories, offering exceptional employees training opportunities, employee perks, gifts, financial rewards and promotions. Sometimes, these encounters also led to the unfortunate demise of employees in the form of terminations.
Whether you personally believe the show is scripted or not, the concept of working next to your undercover boss can be the genius that invites the appropriate work ethos. No, don’t expect for the right mindset to always lead to financial and employee benefits. Instead, there are lessons to be valued about having a positive mental frame to give maximum effort and job performance day-in and day-out. Even when the cameras aren’t running, people are always watching and listening in the shadows. So, let’s explore some simple, useful teaching points and messages to be leveraged from this show.
Customer service is the backbone of business, but it is difficult to master the nuances within a week
On several shows, I have witnessed CEOs, Presidents and executives struggle with the art of customer service best practices within their 1- to 2-week assignment. On-the-job training, coaching calls, professional development and comprehensive experience of the role are all part of the learning curve to handle customer inquiries in a busy, deadline-driven environment. Moreover, there are particular interpersonal skills that need to be on display for customers to know that representatives understand and care enough for their concerns to provide a timely solution. Skills such as empathy, authenticity and employing a proactive nature are key service subtleties that define a department where its positive reputation may soon precede the customer service agents.
Employees are human beings with real lives
I have never come close to being an undercover boss as a director, but my management style, management by walking around (MBWA), lends itself to unscripted walks where I observe my team on-the-job to see how they perform their role. As a result, I am in position to understand their ideas and challenges more closely. Additionally, I love walking around to speak to different departments when I have questions (as opposed to calling on the phone). As a result, I build time in my day to actively listen and speak to team members (subordinates) and colleagues; these interactions lead to building key relationships, facilitating cross-functional teamwork and establishing broader professional networks.
Furthermore, I connect with my team members on a human level by instituting monthly “temperature check” meetings. These meetings do not have a defined time limit, but the space is provided to see how employees are doing on a personal level. Sometimes, challenges in the workplace stem from problems outside of the job, so I do my best to empathize, listen and provide support, if needed, to motivate and empower employees to overcome their challenges. Overall, the information that is gathered from employee meetings and discussions help me plan, make decisions and resolve problems more efficiently. More importantly, as a HR professional, this feedback is the catalyst for me to evaluate the flexibility of our programs, policies and benefits to address the needs of our co-workers.
Empower employees to provide feedback and suggest ways to improve systems
Speaking of information and empowerment, this segue explores the ability for managers and leadership to cultivate a culture that is not afraid of risk as a means to embrace creativity and innovation. For the workforce to meet and exceed goals, employees should always understand the overall purpose as to why what they do is important in the big picture. People need to fully buy-in to an idea to aspire higher. Once there is buy-in, a person will intuitively identify weaknesses within the process that can be improved upon. Goals should not be created to serve the process solely; they also need to challenge the workforce to analyze, collaborate, think and execute projects and tasks for the betterment of the people experiencing the system.
Leadership must be present to help their team see past challenges without interfering or meddling too much. There must be space to balance leadership’s on-time feedback/suggestions with the workforce’s drive for critical thinking and problem solving. In this process, it is prudent and imperative to also appreciate employees for a job well done when warranted. Praise and recognition has the promise to raise employee morale, promote higher levels of self-efficacy and increase long-term job satisfaction when utilized appropriately. Furthermore, according to Meredith Levinson, “the CEOs did more than just praise the employees: They acted on what they learned while undercover, too. And in many cases, they subsequently made process changes to improve employees’ working conditions.”
In closing, one single employee has the ability to lead at any given moment. One single employee has the ability to control their emotions and approach to work. One single employee has the ability to initiate change for the betterment of the organization. One single employee has the ability to streamline systems. Everything boils down to a matter of choice; the power is within the employee to either lead change or to be at the will of change’s currents. And by the way — you never know the next time when you are working next to an undercover boss!
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