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Posted by on Sep 5, 2012 in Business, Leadership, Return On Morale | 4 comments

Who Is Your Lunch Date?

This question is for leaders of all levels: Who’s your lunch date each day? Monday through Friday, who do you break bread with?

Quick math tells us that we have somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-230 workweek lunches each year, after we take out weekends, vacation time, and holidays. This is an incredibly fertile resource we shouldn’t squander. When we break bread, we let down our guard. We open up. Plus, eating is often one of the high points of our day. Tap into that.

Here are some “Yes… buts” I hear when I recommend this to leaders:

  • Too busy doing your job? Your frontline people are your job!!
  • Maybe you travel a lot on business. Fine. Eat with your workmates there.
  • If those are clients, all the better! Eat with them and learn about their business, then bring that back to help your company better serve them – or to do things better yourself!
  • If you find yourself eating with your boss or other management, you’re likely managing up – which deserves a post of its own. Here’s my advice: kick that habit like a chain smoker with emphysema, before it kills your company. Gently explain to your boss that you have real work to do, and have to meet with her some other time.*
  • If you find yourself scarfing a sandwich at your desk as you pour over a spreadsheet or update a report, find an executive coach who specializes in time management. The more competent the leader, the more white space she has on her calendar. (How competent a leader are you?)

This shift in your workday priorities and behavior will vault your leadership to a new level. Try it and see

 

*I know, I know: “I can’t tell this to my boss.” As Jane and I like to say to our children, “Do your best.” As we often add, “Just get it done.” You’re clever, or you wouldn’t be where you are today. Use your creativity to find the way.

 

Photo by MADemsoseille

Ted Coine (93 Posts)

Author | Speaker | Consultant Ted Coiné is one of the most influential business leaders on Twitter, with a following of over two hundred thousand and growing rapidly. He has been ranked by both Huffington Post and Forbes for his business leadership and social media influence. An inspirational speaker, Ted is author of Five-Star Customer Service and Spoil ’Em Rotten! Prior to writing his first book, Ted was founder and CEO of Coiné Language School, a B2B company he brought from his living room to a $10 million valuation in four years by focusing relentlessly on customer service. He is currently writing his third book, about how social media is transforming leadership and business in this exciting new century. Ted and his family live in Naples, Florida, where he is active in the tech startup scene.


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  • http://www.lifelongstudentofbusiness.wordpress.com Britany Wallace

    I just want to add that sometimes, eating alone can cause some of the best networking opportunities ever to walk in front of you. Sometimes it is just the right touch of conversation between two people that can end up opening doors you never believed would happen. Another great post! I have missed reading your posts on a regular basis. I need to get back on track and keep up with you guys!

    • http://www.shiftandswitch.com Ted Coine

      Britany, you’re absolutely right: I often find that when I begin a lunch alone in an open space, people join me – and those people make a solo lunch into a networking and learning goldmine. (In other words, I’m with you!)

      Welcome back! We hope you stick with your resolution to get back on track with our blog. We have great things in the work for this Fall ;)

  • http://www.adigaskell.org/blog Adi Gaskell

    Really good thought starter. I’ve read a number of pieces suggesting that lunch ‘dates’ with colleagues are a key component of your first days in any new position.

    So few really get this right though (me included). I’d say the majority of people still eat at their desk. Those that do venture out into the world for lunch often seem to take the same people with them, usually at the same level in the hierachy as themselves.

    Something we can all improve upon I suspect.

  • http://www.shiftandswitch.com Ted Coine

    Adi, this is such a widespread problem that I want to write a book on just this topic. I guess I’d call it, “Don’t eat lunch at your desk.” I jest, but only kind of.

    When I was a new teacher, I ate with most of my colleagues every day in the teachers’ lounge, and every single day I picked their brains for new lessons and best classroom practices. After a while I shared my knowledge, too, but never more than 50/50% – there is always so much to learn!

    When I started my own school and hired my first few teachers, I just kept this up: having lunch with my staff. There was no trick behind it, I was just doing what I’d always done. As our company grew the staff kept eating together, me as CEO included.

    Imagine my horror, then, when I really began visiting other companies in earnest and learned how unusual this is: for leaders to eat lunch with their employees, and for everyone to leave their desks and eat in a more civilized, appropriate setting.

    How we manage our time: that is a much larger indication of our leadership than a lot of us realize.

    Thank you for weighing in, Adi. You’re a great new addition to the Switch and Shift community!