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The Open-Door Policy - A Leadership Nightmare

Dave Beam


Another sacred cow is about to become hamburger, the unrestricted open-door policy.  This common practice is based on the premise that for a leader to be successful, she must always be accessible to her team.  Working behind a “closed door” signifies separation, superiority, a snooty arrogance. 

 

     I beg to differ.  If you as a leader never close your door, you either work early in the morning or late in the evening when you need to focus your thoughts and plan, or worse, you don’t ever retreat from the access of others.  The fact is that uninterrupted focused attention is 3x more efficient.  Planned time of separation from others is a key to great leadership.  This includes phone calls, texts, and e-mails.  There is a time to be available and a time to be isolated. Focus is power.

 

     The real issue is people pleasing.  Is there a way to close your door and not come off as rude and detached?  Of course there is.  You can create agreements with your team and your customers and even your family. You communicate that there will be periods of time that you are not available.  Some may be offended by such an agreement.  It is their problem – in their head.  Such a practice makes sense for all key leaders and managers that want to maximize their effectiveness.

 

      Your team needs to cut the umbilical cord and learn to function independently.  You have trained them to come running to you with their problems.  Perhaps you feel that team means we do everything together.  This is misuse of team.  Such a model usually means that one or two people do most the work and everyone else watches and distracts.  Independence precedes interdependence.  People need to grow up and go to work as mature adults.

 

      But shouldn’t we help and support the weak?  Absolutely.  The best thing you can do is help them learn to stand strong on their own two feet.  A world class team raises the bar of individual contribution and eliminates members that do not pull their weight and contribute. Each member either adds or subtracts from the whole.  People who fail to achieve independence hold back your team.  They are the ones who will whine about the elimination of the open door.

 

     So what will you do?  Will you take action today and create agreements with your team, and establish focused private space to think, create, and plan?  Will you take a bold stand against the unrestricted open-door policy, and empower people to be strong?  Would you like some help?  Call me.  

 

 

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