The document discusses how employees will be running enterprises in five years and why leaders should let them. It argues that leaders need to engage employees, influence change, and deliver results by allowing employees to share knowledge freely without fear of losing expertise or ideas. Leaders must provide resources and flexibility for employees' best ideas to thrive. Both employees and leaders will need to change for new tools and ways of working to truly empower employees.

1. The Ex-CxO: why employees will be
running your enterprise in five years, and
why you should let them
Sara M. Roberts
Twitter: @RobertsGolden
Enterprise 2.0 Boston – June 2011
San Francisco, CA | +1-415-641-5523 | www.robertsgolden.com Engage Employees | Influence Change | Deliver Results

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12. “There go my
people….
I must find out where
they are going so I can
lead them.”
French politician,
Alexandre Ledru-Rollin
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13. You may make information flow down
but can you make knowledge flow up?
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14. “I am
the system’s
Kryptonite.”
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18. Create guardrails for action
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19. Allow bold
discretion
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20. Ask the
experts
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21. No one sits
on the sidelines
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22. Change the organization, change the game…
• We can’t expect employees to share
knowledge if they’re incented to “hoard”
information & covet subject matter
expertise…
• We can’t expect these tools are going to
empower if leadership already dismisses
what employees think and say, in
general…
• We can’t expect employees to give their
best ideas if we don’t give them the
resources and leeway to see if it can
thrive…
• We can’t expect leaders to change if we
don’t change too…
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23. “There go my people….I must find out where they are
going so I can lead them.”
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