Daily Conversations.

'The Divisional Commander's creed is: 'The key character here is the Red Army soldier. He sleeps in the snow and is prepared to sacrifice his life. And it isn't easy to sacrifice one's life. Everyone wants to live, including heroes. Authority is gained through daily conversations. A soldier must know his task and understand it. One has to speak to soldiers and sing and dance for them. But authority shouldn't be cheap, it is hard won. I learned this in the frontier units. And knowing that soldiers trust me, I know that they will fulfil all my orders and risk their lives. When it is necessary to take a little town or block a road, I know that they will do it.'

- Colonel Zinoviev, Soviet 37th Army in 1942 as reported by Vasily Grossman in 'A Writer at War'

'Authority is gained through daily conversations.’

In 1942 the Soviet Army numbered around 7 million people. It was engaged in a fierce and ruthless war for survival against the invading Germany Army.

And yet - there was time for daily conversations.

The boss ‘sang and danced’ for his soldiers.

When was the last time the boss ‘sang and danced’ for you?

In today’s workplace, the boss’s executive assistant schedules regular one-on-one meetings - if you’re lucky. The boss does a course where she’s encouraged to MBWA - manage by walking around. So she does. Because she learned it on a course.

There are other larger meetings where there is little time for more than the most perfunctory and token acknowledgement of personal worth. The ‘people stuff’ is left to HR, or whatever name is given to the department attending to things too unimportant or technically complex for the boss'; ie her people.

And thus, in the absence of daily conversations, the source of the boss’s authority is almost solely the dormant spectre (cue the theme from ‘Jaws’) that she can terminate your employment if you displease her or don’t do what she says.

Because the boss assumes you will sing and dance for her.