In a much-visited video clip on Google, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, can be seen bouncing around the stage to dance music, screaming, whooping and exhorting his hyped-up audience to “COME AARN, GED UP”. He then pauses, panting, before shouting at the top of his voice: “I HAVE FOUR WORDS FOR YOU: I – LOVE – THIS – COMPANY . . . YEAHHHS!”
Mr Ballmer evidently took to heart – and to the extreme – that cliché of leadership that you can never communicate enough with your employees. Chief executives routinely pay homage to communication and boast about the ways they “reach out” to their people – through “town hall” meetings, site visits, newsletters, open doors and, now, blogs.
Those on the receiving end, however, are often left feeling bemused or, worse, cheated. What employees really want, according to a new survey, are straight-talkers who keep them up to date with bad, as well as good, news. They also want leaders who stay true to themselves instead of putting on a performance or preaching through PowerPoint.
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