I was touring a camp last summer with a non-profit CEO. We’d just walked her property together for an hour or so, looking at programs.

I told her she was a good CEO who cared about camp.

She said, “How do you know that?”

I looked down. “Your shoes.”

She was wearing sneakers.

The Sneakers Test

Do sneakers tell the whole story? Yes, I think sneakers tell the whole story. She was dressed to be on the property all day. The tour was the smaller thing she happened to be doing.

It doesn’t matter if she ever leaves her office during the summer. It doesn’t matter if she actually plays a game with a kid. The chances of that are minuscule.

The sneakers are signaling something else. They tell the staff she’s willing to get into camp if she needs to. They tell the staff where her priorities are. They’re a sign of respect to everyone who runs around all summer with kids.

I truly believe the great CEOs are dressing for their staff. They’ve decided that’s the audience that matters most.

The Really Great Ones

The best ones working in camp wear sneakers. Or they’ll wear a suit jacket with a t-shirt under it. Or they’ll say, “I’m wearing my work costume today. Let me change into something I can play in.”

They’re dynamic enough to shift. They recognize that being present is more than walking into a room for a moment and walking out.

It’s contributing. It’s hard work. It’s not easy. People take it for granted.

Being a camp boss is intention-filled, and there are a million competing interests pulling against it.

Those are the ones I admire. The ones I hope more leaders take after as the model.

Why Some Don’t Do It

Some CEOs don’t, though. Why?

They worked hard to get to their status. They have things about themselves they haven’t fully articulated.

Maybe they’re giving a tour to a donor and want to look the right way. Maybe a board member is about to walk through and they want to be perceived a certain way.

They’re managing optics for a different audience.

It’s a default. They’re managing the audiences they’ve practiced managing. Camp staff just isn’t on the list yet.

Until the moment a counselor walks past, sees the suit, and quietly downgrades you in their head.

The good ones know they have to win over their camp staff as much as the camp staff have to win them over.

Your Camp Shoes

Your camp shoes say everything about you. Sneakers are the obvious version, but the principle holds in dozens of smaller choices. The dining hall versus your office. The name of the staff member running the climbing wall. Recalling the name of a camper from last summer.

These are tells. Staff sees them all. They’re talking about it behind your back, in private DMs, in the dining hall after you leave.

The shoes are just where it shows first. Sneakers tell the whole story.

Sincerely,
Dan Weir

Senior Consultant at Immersive1st

dan@immersive1st.com