Growth tips 30 seconds to business enlightenment.

Open door vs. closed door policy

28-Apr-2011

It’s almost a cliché in business.  Managers saying, “I have an open door policy.”  But what does this really mean and what are the implications of this?

In my first management role I took this advice at face value and quickly became frustrated with the number of interruptions I experienced with my team constantly asking me questions.  I started arriving at work earlier and/or leaving later to take advantage of the quiet times when everyone was gone, when I could be more productive.  This conundrum is known by another management cliché called “working longer, not smarter.”

Some years later I attended a presentation by Kinkos founder Paul Orfalea. “What’s all this c… about open door policies?” he said using language that got everyone’s attention, “Close the f….. door, or you’ll never get anything done!”  Swearing aside, I deduced that he is a billionaire and I am not – and he clearly knows something I don’t.

Actually, I came to realize that open door vs. closed door is not an either / or choice.  To succeed as a manager you need to do both.

As Peter Drucker advised, effective executives know how to reduce interruptions. Little bits of time - 15 minutes here and there spent working on a project are not effective.  Effective leaders carve out 2 hours of uninterrupted time every day.  This is usually enough time for you to get the important things done.  Set a specific “closed door” time window; when you will not take any meetings, phone calls, or Instant Messages and train your team to adhere to this.  

And make sure you use this 2 hour block of time to work on your strategic priorities – not checking and answering emails.  Pick the most important item on your to-do list and stick with it until it is done.  Get in the flow and stay focused!  

You need to balance this by setting aside “open door” time windows.  Times when your team members know they can contact you between these hours and discuss their key issues with you.  Chances are, because you weren’t immediately available, they have taken the time to think through things and already resolved the issue they had.

Tip: beware the phenomena known as “reverse delegation.” This is where a team member comes to you with a problem or idea and asks, “What do you think?”  Your subconscious urge will be to make a decision, yet by doing so, you unwittingly make your team dependent on you for decision making, and miss a vital opportunity to coach and grow your people.  I will cover more about how to use this coaching opportunity in a future growth tip.

Carving out uninterrupted time requires discipline – and as with most endeavors, discipline is a prerequisite for business execution success.

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