Some of the best executives I have ever worked with were those who hated sitting down or worse yet, being stuck in an office. These executives are people who want to be out, around and among the people. They feel out of touch, stifled and cramped when they are holed up in their offices or a conference room. Don’t even try and put them in a meeting room all day long unless that room is full of people who make, move or sell. That’s just the way they are. They would rather be walking the halls and talking about the business and what people are doing or what people need from him/her to get their jobs done. Some people call this “managing by wandering around”. Whatever you call it, it works. The more visible and in touch an executive is, or any of us are, the more we will be respected for who we are and the better the chance that when we stumble that we get a second chance because people know us beyond a nameplate or a picture of a person they have never met. When a leader gets out and wanders among the people, we can remember another great leader who was always in the streets and with those that others wouldn’t be seen. Jesus taught and led by wandering around because this is how he was able to reach the people who needed Him most. It was told long before Jesus walked the earth that He, as God, would be this way; “I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people.” We could do well by modeling His actions and walk among our people showing others who we are and let them see us in their environment, where they can be themselves. Let us all feel a little more comfortable to wandering around.

Reference: Leviticus 26:12 (New Living Testament)