The Open Door Policy (stuff you already know)

The Open Door Policy (stuff you already know)

By: David Van Rossum

                Many executives describe part of their management style by announcing to their staff, new hires, or colleagues that they have an “open door policy.” I guess that means that they are approachable. Maybe it means they have nothing to hide. I find it amusing that an executive would have to actually say this out loud. Communication is a key ingredient of success. If you walk the walk, that is communicate with your team, you shouldn’t have to tell anyone about it.

                An open door is a wonderful thing. The best thing about it is it allows you to walk out of your office and visit your operation. Take your open door with you. This isn’t anything new. MBWA. Management by Walking Around. It really works. I worked at a plant that established a manager of the week program. The idea was to walk the factory floor and other support areas to be visible. It actually made the operation more visible to me. We were encouraged to come in on evening and night shifts as well. I met a lot of people and saw a lot of things. I made a lot of friends. I didn’t like all the people and I’m sure the feeling was mutual. I didn’t agree with all the things I saw, but I tried to understand them. It taught me the valuable lesson that one really needs to try and put oneself in another’s shoes to see their point of view. Then you can evaluate what you would do given similar circumstances. I was surprised at how often I came to the conclusion that I would do the same as another when I took their perspective. If something needed to be fixed, I had a better idea of how to go about fixing it. I know there is a TV show that takes this concept to an extreme. The boss goes undercover into his operations and his eyes are opened wide. If you have to go incognito into your own organization to find out what is going on, then you are losing.

                We get bombarded by email and data by the hour. Take some time and respond to an email in person. If you see data that puzzles you, go ask someone about it who is closer to the source than the person that delivered the data. I bet you will learn more through these direct conversations then you would through an email exchange.  Some may see this as “going around” the hierarchy or “skip-leveling.” That is ridiculous. Obviously you shouldn’t make a habit of getting all your information from those who are not your direct reports but if you want to be approachable then you better learn how to approach others. Of course you don’t have to have an open door policy at all. You can communicate with your trusted lieutenants and let them carry your flag to battle. People have been successful doing this. If, however, you want to be recognized as someone who has an open door, then honestly do something about it. Walk out of it.