On a recent trip to Texas, I made plans to stop and catch up with James Mylett, SVP U.S. Digital Buildings at Schneider Electric. I first met James over a decade ago when I interviewed him for the cover of Field Technologies magazine and I’ve since admired his demeanor, his open mindedness, and I always enjoy talking with him about how the world of service is evolving. He has a reputation for his impactful leadership, and we discussed his views on the demands of modern leadership in a two-part podcast, which you can find here and here.
When I arrived at Schneider’s Dallas Hub, James greeted me at the door with a smile and I got checked in. We stopped to get a drink in the common area and an employee visiting from California excitedly approached James and began “talking shop,” not realizing at first that I wasn’t another employee. The three of us chatted for a bit, James happy to engage and never once making her feel rushed. I was thinking about how they say that the best conversations happen around the water cooler and how, as employees walked by and waved to James, he must have many interactions just like this.
After we finished talking with her, we did a quick tour of the facility which was remodeled during Covid and is modern with a fun Texas energy. As we walked over to sit down at a table and talk, I asked James if his office was on the second floor. He responded, “Oh, I don’t have an office.” He travels on a frequent basis, visiting other offices across the country and well as partners and customers – but when he is in Dallas, he opts to set up his workspace in the common area and uses a conference room when he needs privacy for a call or a meeting. He explained that he much prefers being out in the open where he has the opportunity to have those casual catch ups and keep up on the pulse of the working environment.
Now in retrospect, I’m not at all surprised. But in that moment, I was thinking – an SVP in a massive company, and no corner office? If not unheard of, certainly uncommon.
Breaking Down Walls
So, what’s better than an open-door policy? Perhaps a no door policy! Forgoing the corner office is truly representative of James’s approach. He doesn’t have an ego to feed, feel the need to take up space based on his position, or have the urge to demonstrate any sort of power. He would rather be in the midst of it all not only because I think he genuinely enjoys it, but because he knows staying closely in tune with what’s going on with his employees is the best way to be effective in his role.
He shared with me that in the company’s most recent employee engagement assessment, the Dallas Hub had the highest scores, and I’m not at all surprised. This isn’t to say that is entirely attributed to James, but I know he plays an important role.
I share this for other leaders as food for thought around what we need more of in service (and beyond). There are still plenty of companies with leaders who sit in those corner offices, detached from the realities of the frontline workforce and enamored with their positions of power – and those companies are quickly falling behind, because the culture that creates is untenable in today’s talent landscape. Now I’m not suggesting there’s anything wrong with a leader having an office, or that everyone should move themselves out of theirs. My point is the mentality – that’s what matters.
We need more leaders with less ego and more of a mind to serve. We need more leaders who focus on diversity and inclusion not because they know it’s “important” but because they believe it is imperative to their organization’s success. We need more leaders who make employees feel valued, respected, and heard – in big ways and small. We need more leaders who are more interested in listening than in talking. We need more leaders who are more invested in helping build future leaders than they are in protecting their own value. We need more leaders who realize their role today isn’t to know it all, but to curate teams of talent that compliment one another and then allow that talent to be creative, to weigh in, and to make a difference. We need more leaders who are looking around them to see who they can lift up rather than looking in the mirror at their own accomplishments.