Try this – answer 3 questions to check if you are in a leadership bubble, isolated at the senior level. And thus, understand what would be the first steps to reach out.

So, you’ve achieved your goal of rising to the top. However, now that you are a top leader, the isolation kicks in as employees hold back on their thoughts and opinions. You ask yourself: Do my people simply mimic me by saying exactly what I want to hear? Is the information I receive being filtered and prioritized to skew my decisions?

It must not be lonely at the top – it is YOUR decision to reach out and be inviting for dialogue. Try this – ask yourself 3 questions:

1. How many questions did I ask versus talking myself?

2. How often did I wait silently for others to provide answers?

3. How many times this week have I said “I don’t know” to a question?

Get out of the isolating bubble of seniority: Make yourself physically + mentally approachable and venture deeper to get a better understanding of what really goes on in your organisation.

Yours, Kai Dierke + Anke Houben