Former top CEO reveals the one respectful word he never wants to hear from his employees

A former CEO, who headed major clothing brands like Gap and J.Crew, has revealed the one respectful word he hated hearing from his employees throughout his career, according to CNBC Make It.

80-year-old Mickey Drexler, who is now the chairman of clothing brand Alex Mill, has said that throughout his career he made sure that his colleagues and employees addressed him like a regular person and used only his first name.

Revealing in a LinkedIn interview that he preferred to be on the same level as the people working around, Drexler said that he never let anyone address him as "mister".

“No one can call me ‘mister.’ I don’t care who it is. Even in restaurants, I [tell people to call me] Mickey, that’s it. I want them to feel not beneath me," the 80-year-old said.

Top CEO prefers to stay humble

Drexler is credited with turning Gap into a $14 billion powerhouse and founding brands like Old Navy and Madewell. He was also an Apple board member for 16 years, serving from 1999 to 2015.

But Drexler refuses to let his accomplishments make him appear better than any of his employees and wants other bosses to adopt a similar outlook, emphasising connecting with colleagues as an essential part of leadership.

″You have to connect to the team. You can’t be in your ivory tower ... You don’t learn in a bureaucracy [or] in an office," he said.

Drexler connects with colleagues, entry-level or executives, by asking easy, open-ended questions about their work or background. He calls it “schmoozing,” but others might see it as small talk or casual networking: a friendly, informal way to build rapport.

“Meet all the people,” said Drexler, adding that small talk is a skill he developed as an executive, not something he’s always done. “Be a normal [person], not [an] ivory-tower person who thinks they’re smarter than everyone. ... You never learn [something new] unless you have a relationship with someone," he said.