There's been quite a bit of talk this week about "Undercover Boss", a television show in which the CEO of a large company disguises himself as a common worker in order to find out what's really going on out on the front lines. Not surprisingly, opinions about the show are mixed. Some loving the idea, some view it as yet another contrived reality show, and some believe that the idea of a CEO going undercover in such a manner runs counter to the basic principles of effective leadership.

As I reflected on the show, I couldn't help but reflect back on a "CEO" that I once worked for and the method he used to keep track of what was really going on out on the front lines. And in my case that's an accurate description, since the CEO in question was Major General (MG) Russel Honoré, Commander of the 2nd Infantry Division from 2000 to 2002(You may remember him more as the commander of Task Force Katrina, thanks to his famous "stuck on stupid" comment).

MG Honoré was a hard man doing a hard job, but he never lost focus on the soldiers who were responsible for carrying out his orders. And, while he expected much from them he went out of his way to ensure that they were properly trained, equipped and cared for. One of his most effective techniques for doing so was a weekly call-in show on the Armed Forces Radio Network in South Korea.

On a regularly scheduled basis, MG Honoré would "appear" on radio to update the Division on various items of interest and emphasis. He would also take phone calls from anyone in the Division who felt they had a concern that he needed to address or at least be aware of. He would listen carefully and then take one of 3 actions

1. If the issue was one that a lower level commander should handle, he would direct the caller to take the issue to that commander. He or someone on his staff would follow-up to ensure that the caller did so and that the lower-level commander took appropriate action.
2. If the caller raised a question he could not immediately answer he would get the answer as soon as possible and either he or someone on his staff would follow-up with the caller.
3. If the issue was one that only he could resolve he would do so. This was especially true when it came to quality of life issues; an important point in the austere environment that existed on the 2nd Infantry Division's widespread bases along the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

As you can well imagine, the soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division responded positively to MG Honoré's demonstrated concern for their well-being, even as he led them through a grueling schedule of training and operations. And, by engaging directly with his soldiers, MG Honoré was able to more accurately determine what was really going on out on the front lines, free from the filter of the many layers of management between the soldier in the field and his office in the headquarters building.

And he didn't have to go undercover to do it.