Kicking the tyres  is part of the ritual involved in buying a second hand car. It tells you nothing useful about the tyres or the car. It indicates the individual knows little about cars. A quick look round the exterior of the car finishing with a dismissive kick of the tyres indicates they have no have no intention of buying.  In the  trade a Tyre Kicker is a phrase for a time waster. You find tyre kickers in all walks of life

You may have come across a Tyre Kicker at work. Maybe you were asked to show them round, provide them with information, explain how things work. Somebody thought it would be worth while. Despite the impression they try to give it’s obvious from their initial comments they know little about the nature of your work. A brief examination and it’s clear they’ve lost interest.

Nothing lost except a hour of your time unless this was a senior manager ,”walking the floor” ! Then you have to wonder why they bothered. Was it just so they could be seen, so front line employees could put a face to the name? Are they new and someone thought this would be a useful part of their induction? Is this just one of those ,  “in things“  for senior managers to do to counter the front line belief that senior managers are remote and have little insight into life on the shop floor?

Increasingly this visit from senior management is not just a tyre kicking exercise. Agile organisations able to change their shape and adapt their strategies quickly and smoothly require senior managers with transferable skills.  These managers and their immediate reports need to be able to take the lead in areas of business they have no direct previous experience of, no professional background in and little knowledge of. What they have are skills in people management and budget management, they can quickly get to grips with complex problems, they have vision and values.

What they need is to quickly get up to speed with the part of the business they are now responsible for. What better way to do that than to get out of the office/HQ and meeting those on those on the front line in their place of work. Talk to individuals about what they do, their achievements, their biggest challenges and the obstacles to getting the job done the way they think it should be and ideas for how it could be done better. What better way to convince employees you know what you’re talking about than to quote from this experience!