Is Your Open Door Policy the Real Deal or just a CLICHE?

How many of you have been hired on with an organization that seems too good to be true, only to find out that in fact....it was too good to be true.  Far too often the distance between who we (the organization) say we are and who we really are is deep and wide.  Take for example the ol' "open door policy" promise that many people are told upon being hired.  The Real Deal or just a CLICHE?

In my experiences, one of the most common complaints from the people I work with is the lack of two way traffic between themselves and those who sit at the top of the totem pole.  Color me uncomfortable, for example, when in a workshop on how to have better and more productive conversations, I see my workshop participants exchanging knowing glances.  Being that I am a teacher, I don't usually let these knowing glances go without asking.  "Hey is something interesting, confusing, funny or what?  You guys have a funny look on your faces" to which I hear "We are just all wondering if our bosses have to come to this workshop".

As the outsider who is inside the organization to create teaching moments with team members, this is never a great experience for me as I the answer is almost always "No your boss is not going through this workshop".

I know what everyone is thinking in their head when I tell them this: "Then why are we here" and "This doesn't really matter then does it" and "Typical, they think we need to be fixed but our bosses have it all figured out".

Does your organization boast an open door policy?  Do you tell new hires that when they join the organization they will have easy access to their boss to share their thoughts, ideas, opinions and ask questions?  Now, go up and down the hall of your organization's decision makers and ask them how many real, authentic, conversations they have had today, this week, this month, this year--with their employees.

CONVERSATION is the heart beat of any organization.  Without it, you don't know what is going on.  The rule of thumb is that the higher you climb in an organization, the less easy access you have to what is actually going on in the organization. That means then that if you are a decision maker in the organization, you will have to work that much harder to make sure you are having conversations with your team members.

So, commit yourself to real, authentic conversations with your people today.  How?  Take a look at "Honoring the Open Door Policy"for some GREAT ideas on why conversation is important and how to have better conversations: Click Here

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Conversation is an art form.  It takes practice, commitment and COURAGE to have authentic conversations with your team members.  Now, go out there and get to talking....