In response to an America who direly distrusts high powered CEO’s and their repeated shady business activities (with good reason) comes a TV series about the opposite. CBS’s series Undercover Boss offers some of the most heart-wrenching insight into what it means to be a courageous leader and what it means to be a dedicated, star employee. But even more gripping, the series sends the core message that life is far bigger than business.
In every episode, the owner (CEO or COO) of a major company goes undercover as an average employee within his or her own organization. For one week, the chief executive works as a receiving dock worker, a call center operator, a drive thru window operator, a customer service rep, a parts picker, a shipper, a jockey valet, or any number of other front line positions it takes to make their companies hugely successful. Suddenly, the numbers on the graphs the executives are used to looking at have faces and lives.
What the chief executives quickly discover – much to their surprise – is that these jobs on the front lines are far from easy. In fact, these jobs are fast paced, stressful, and require mountains of determination to complete well. (One of the CEO’s actually gets fired from his undercover position as a shipping clerk!) As they trip, stutter, and tumble through this eye-opening journey the executives discover super star employees: The drive thru window worker who focuses completely on his customers and ensures their pleasant and quick service; the cook at a fast food chain restaurant who dreams of creating healthier choices on their menus; the woman who works with precision and skill on the loading dock who is constantly looking for ways to save the company time and money by adjusting and re-adjusting her processes; the cleaning woman who drives 90 minutes to get to work in the middle of the night These are the unsung, often unnoticed, heroes who make million dollar corporations run.
Clearly the weight of these companies rests on the shoulders of every employee who shows up and gets the job done skillfully, day in and day out. But how often are these employees ever noticed? How often are they celebrated? In every episode of Undercover Boss these employees are hailed as they should be, as the true backbone of their industries.
We are entering a new age in which the truly courageous high-powered executives are no longer comfortable hiding behind their glossy dark wooden desks to make decisions that affect tens of thousands of nameless workers. Names and faces have to come first before the charts, graphs, and power-point presentations can mean anything. As intelligent, dedicated and honest leaders these bosses connect with the front lines promising open minds and open hearts. Because in the end, we are all human beings doing our best to live with passion, dignity and success.
Most clearly articulating the core value of this program is this quote from Bill Carstanjen, COO of Churchill Downs (Thoroughbred racetrack famously home of the Kentucky Derby), as he expresses what you have to be willing to give up in order to be truly open to change.
“It’s got to be personal. This means you might lose control a little bit. But it is worth it to get to the truth.”
Undercover Boss is on CBS Sundays at 9pm (8c). If you have comments or observations on any of the episodes I would love to hear from you.
This is TRUE Reality TV. I also look forward to the episodes every Sunday. I have been touched by every show.
Marlene