Boss: the politician who no longer hides

Four years ago, it was daring. The SNCF had covered its TGV with the colors of the rainbow, to celebrate LGBT pride day. This Saturday, June 24, 2023, many companies are adopting the color code, on their shelves or on their site. The Americans were pioneers, the French followed suit, investing the field of politics in the broad sense, that of diversity and equality in particular, told a little ago Anne de Guigne in a book.

Since then, the field has extended, to the ubiquitous climate issue in public debate, to work when it is difficult to recruit. “Business leaders tend to shun politicians and old-fashioned lobbying in ministries, but increasingly intervene on societal issues,” observes Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux after five years at the head of Medef. Either they are forced to do so because their sector is controversial or they take the initiative to score points with their stakeholders.

Crossroads offers twelve days of leave to its employees suffering from endometriosis; Augustin de Romanet (Paris Airport) calls for people to travel less often; TotalEnergies stands as a pioneer of the ecological transition; THE Mutual credit takes the lead on value sharing, … The list goes on. In the polls, the French are reconciled with the company, but to better expect it to meet their expectations.

Change the life

Nature, it must be said, abhors a vacuum. When the idea takes hold that traditional politics can no longer do so, voters look for more effective relays to change their lives, even within the restricted framework of their business. In addition, “today politics is forced to limit itself to crisis management while companies are on the long term. They can therefore be the guarantee of a kind of French continuity”, notes Clément Léonarduzzi at Publicis.

The methods do not differ much. The boss with a political cap must know how to capture the spirit of the times, surround himself with the right advisers, prove if possible that they are not just doing publicity, doing morning shows like ministers. The two personalities who attracted the best audiences this winter were two non-politicians, boss Michel-Edouard Leclerc and trade unionist Laurent Berger. Radios and TVs have torn them off.

On the other hand, unlike politicians who do not take heed, business leaders are prohibited from disconnecting. They have a business to grow, markets to win, products to invent. If the spirit of the times is necessary, it can only be secondary. Some precursors like Emmanuel Faber and Anne Lauvergeon paid dearly to know.