Leading When You’re Not the Boss: How to Get Th ings Done in Complex Corporate Cultures

INTRODUCTIONI     

Zombies at the Workplace

I will never forget the first interviews I conducted as an internal auditor in the US service department of a global software company. We spoke to employees on three hierarchy levels: to call center agents, to first-line managers, and to the Vice President of Services. The VP was eager to explain the long-term business strategy to us, and the first-line managers discussed resource and scheduling issues, costs, and so on. However, it was the call center agent interviews that fascinated me most and stuck in my mind. These colleagues looked at us auditors as if we came from outer space. They did not seem to comprehend most of our questions, much less answer them. Time and again, we heard: “They don’t ...