The Manager - Edition 80 - The silliness of open door policies - by Rob Lambert
THE MANAGER - BY ROB LAMBERT
WELCOME
Hi,
I hope you've had a cracking weekend and are looking forward to the week ahead.
I've had a great but busy weekend. As we lead up to Christmas there are plenty of team events, family events, shopping and planning for the Christmas period.
I've also returned from EuroSTAR conference where my Communication Workshop won best tutorial again! So happy and proud.
Here's me collecting the award in the lobby of the hotel (I had to leave early for commitments).
Such a great event and day and so pleased people enjoyed it so much that they left me very positive feedback.
Lots of links below for your week day enjoyment.
This week I've been mostly thinking about open door statements and policies and why they are so silly.
Enjoy
Rob..
OPEN DOOR POLICY
You've heard managers say this. My door is always open. Meaning you can always come and speak to me and I will always stop what I'm doing for you.
If you're a manager don't say this. And here's why:
Most managers don't even have an office so there is literally no door to keep open.
If you say it, be prepared to always exhibit this behaviour. Always.
Don't let your behaviours betray your words.
Incongruence between words and behaviours will show you are untrustworthy - and your people must trust you.
You have work of your own to do - and being available for every single request, query, idle chat and banter is a bad thing - you'll never get anything done.
Well intentioned managers use this phrase a lot, but do themselves an injustice as they either don't follow through with the consequence of always being available for people, or they simply keep getting interrupted and get nothing done.
Trust me, I work with managers all the time that have an open door policy and they are either ineffective at living up to the promise or they simply spend their entire day dealing with other people.
And here's another reason to lock yourself away and don't be disturbed --> People will stop coming to you for answers to questions/challenges/problems that they could work out for themselves.
So, if you do have a door - keep it closed for some time during the day - get your work done. If you don't have a door - give your team time to see you. But importantly - also give yourself time to rest, get stuff done and focus on making the world of work better.
Rob..
PONDER ON
Overloaded is when you feel like you have more to do than you can realistically get done.
Overwhelm is when you are so overloaded that you simply stop functioning correctly.
I regularly experience being overloaded. I have also been overwhelmed - and it's not nice.
Are you either of these?
If you're overloaded be careful not to become overwhelmed.
If you're overwhelmed. Stop. Rest. Delegate. Say No. Stop committing to everything. Heal yourself. You likely know what to do. If not, seek help from a professional.
FOOD FOR YOUR MANAGEMENT BRAIN
1 - Your staff will always remember the promises you made to them - and when you break them - don't be surprised if people let you know. As GitLab are wrangling through right now.
2 - We all love to be happy. But really? Should it be a relentless battle and pursuit to be happy?
3 - So many people seek the silver bullet to become a great leader. The reality is it's a series of traits and behaviours. Good article on it here.
4 - A few years back the tech industry went through a phase of people refusing to do bad work. It trended on Twitter. Every talk was full of it. But they missed the point. Sure, we shouldn't do illegal, unethical or immoral work, but the hard work that comes with the good is inevitable. We must take it on. Through the bad work you will see good work, growth and an improved business (and you). Without the bad we would have no good. If there was no bad work the work would already be done. Lean in. Every time I've taken on bad work I've grown and made the business better.
5 - How to remain resilient. Easier said than done but helpful all the same. Another one from Barking Up The Wrong Tree here - very good.
6 - The tech world can only continue for so long running at huge losses and with over inflated values. Good article here.
7 - Evolution is a terrible metaphor for technology. Brilliant article about why technologists and technology doesn't have to be a natural evolution and we shouldn't invent tech just because we can.
8 - The power of skip level meetings.
9 - Cryptocurrency simply will not go away.
10 - Why groups struggle to solve problems together.
11 - Dr Seuss and why constraint help you be focused and creative.
12 - Anxiety and mobile phone usage are affecting sleep - but then we all knew that, right?
Thanks for reading this week's edition of The Manager.
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Thanks
Rob..