Nestlé has been around for 160 years. The company’s CEO, Philipp Navratil, joined in 2001 and held various positions at the $240 billion food and drink giant before taking the top job last year.
Now Navratil is offering a sneak peek into his leadership style. According to a recent report from Business Insider, the CEO changed how he managed direct reports early in his career after realizing that he needed to give candid feedback.
Overseeing the company behind dozens of billion-dollar brands, including Gerber and KitKat, requires difficult conversations behind closed doors. But for Navratil, delivering feedback didn’t come naturally. He struggled to tell employees when their work wasn’t meeting expectations. He wasn’t able to go beyond encouragement and clearly explain where they needed to improve.
“It’s easy to tell someone ‘Great job, well done,'” Navratil said in an interview with Business Insider.
He said the real test of leadership comes when performance slips and a manager has to address it. Navratil tries to be “as direct as possible” in those conversations, leaving little room for confusion about what isn’t working.
He said that softening the message too much may result in employees walking away without understanding the problem or recognizing that something needs to change.
“It’s much more valuable for them to receive it that way because it’s clear,” Navratil said.
He now views feedback as an integral part of a leader’s job because it’s an opportunity to strengthen the business while helping employees develop.
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