Sept. 4, 2025

🌴248. The Day She Walked Straight Into the CEO’s Office

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Show Notes

Today’s walk-and-talk episode is all about a brilliant story that came out of a Work Fame webinar I ran this week.

One of the participants shared how, in her very first week at a big multinational, she got asked to get a CEO’s signature. Instead of following “the process,” she simply went upstairs, knocked on the door, and asked directly. The CEO was delighted, signed the papers, and she came back down to a horrified manager asking, “How did you do that so fast?!”

This story lit me up for a few reasons:

Unwritten rules vs. reality — Organizations are full of “you’re not supposed to” guidelines that aren’t actually rules. Question them. Test them. Sometimes the simplest path is the best.
Hierarchy is often manufactured — People are just people. CEOs are humans too, and most of the time, they’re pleasant and willing to help if you approach them with respect.
Horizontal vs. vertical relationships — Drawing from The Courage to Be Disliked, influence often comes when you see yourself shoulder-to-shoulder with others, not looking up at them. Peer relationships (even with senior leaders) create more influence than deferential, vertical ones.

Alan Weiss says it best: “We often walk around the block to get next door.” This story is a perfect reminder of that.

So today’s invitation: Where are you making things harder than they need to be because of unwritten “rules”? And what would happen if you just took the elevator to level 12?

*New* You're invited to join Leanne's free community, Work Fame.

Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.com

P.S. Ready to take things up a level? Here are some ways I can help: