Think Outside of the Lunchbox - Why Executive-Level Management Should Pack

Sharon Santino, Jun 29, 2011

It began trending this year - eco-friendly, insulated and reusable lunch bags are in and traditional disposable lunch sacks are out. Yet the appeal of a packed lunch doesn't stop at slimmer waistlines and bulked-up bank accounts. The Wall Street Journal reports that the lunchbox has reached beyond the ranks of school children, blue-collar workers and environmentally conscious professionals to land in executive-suite kitchenettes.

If you are in senior or executive management, eating-in can improve the quality of your leadership at work by giving you the opportunity to bond with peers and co-workers that you may not cross paths with during the regular workday.

"You open yourself up to this informal dialogue," says Ira Bornstein the chief operating officer at American Bancard, a Boca Raton, Fla., credit-card processing company, who noticed entry-level co-workers would stroll by and ask him questions while he ate in the lunchroom. Soon, he was bouncing ideas off his younger colleagues, most of whom he would never see during his day-to-day business activities.

As a leader who is expected to set an example, your lunchbox should look as professional as you are. Happily, there are many adult-friendly lunch bags available - ones that not only look good, but allow you to pack whatever you're craving (or whatever's leftover from the night before).

But why stop there? Start a company-wide initiative by giving out promotional lunch bags to all of your teammates - and see where the conversation goes.