Think about it - open door policies are for big businesses that need a strategy to break barriers. Small businesses don’t have those barriers. You’re on the floor with your people every day, aren’t you? The only thing an open door policy does is upset the chain of command and confuse your employees. So, close yours when you need to get some work done.
Things are somewhat unorganized, undermanned, and chaotic in most small businesses. An open door policy reinforces this dynamic.
REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE:
One of our CEO peer group members named Alan prided himself on his interpersonal skills. He knew the hobbies, kids, spouse’s name, and personal history of all thirty of his employees. Alan also prided himself on his open door policy.
At first, Alan's open door policy worked well. Alan was exposed to information he would have never heard through regular channels. However, over time, Alan’s people began to abuse the open door policy. Alan would find employees stopping their work to plop into his chair and complain about co-workers or complain about their pay rate. Sound familiar?
Most small businesses need to become MORE structured, not less. The inherent problem with an open door policy is that it creates a permanent mechanism for a business to be unstructured. Lines of authority are usurped. Gossip is encouraged and rewarded. Worst of all: you, the CEO, never have any uninterrupted time to work on projects and big-picture things like planning, goal setting and reviewing your financials.
Does this sound familiar? Then read on.
SOLUTION:
First, Shut your door for certain periods during the workday. You do not need to shut it all day, just for periods so you can work on projects uninterrupted. Of course, you’ll need to let your team know you’re going to do this so it doesn’t catch them by surprise – you don’t want them getting upset. Tell them at a weekly meeting or in a memo, something like, “You’ll see my office door closed for some time each day – that’s not to ‘shut you out,’ but so I can focus on the bigger picture work to keep our company growing.”
Secondly, find a method to get the feedback you used to get with your loose structure. Put a sign on your door that says, “I’m not going to be able to have any more ‘go-a-minute meetings – so just sign up on this chart if you need to talk to me about something. Better yet, could it wait till our weekly meeting? If so, we’ll be able to cover it even better at that time. Do make sure that you have a meeting with your key people once a week. Also, if you think that the new closed door time will seem too harsh, just leave your door open a couple of hours a day so people can still do those drop by “got-a-minute” meetings with you. But eventually, you will want to change that.
That’s it! That is The Single Greatest Secret For Small Business Owners To Be More Productive. Try it – it’ll work wonders in your business and even in your life.
Henri Schauffler, The CEO Coach, has dedicated the last 20 years to helping
small businesses like yours to Outmanage, Outhire, Outsell and Outprofit
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