"My door is always open"

Automotive Design & Production, August, 2004 by Ted Pollock

Most managers claim that they are always available to their people and are glad to hear them out. Yet, ask the people themselves and you will frequently hear quite a different story. The truth is, many employees are by no means as sure of their welcome as their manager would have the rest of the world believe.

You, of course, are the exception. Or are you? Here is a short quiz that will help you answer that question with some degree of accuracy.

 1. How long has it been since one of your people asked you for advice?
 2. Do some of your people try to avoid discussing their work with you?
 3. Do you feel--and show--impatience or annoyance when you are
    consulted on individual problems?
 4. Do you try to postpone such discussions indefinitely?
 5. Do you feel that after you have listened to a problem, you have
    done your job?
 6. Do you usually close such discussions with some bromide like "Do
    the best you can"? Or, do you roll up your sleeves and help find a
    solution?
 7. Are you inclined to be overly critical in meetings, with the result
    that your people shy away from you outside the meeting room?
 8. Do you make appointments to see your people, only to postpone them
    because of "more pressing" business?
 9. Which is more important to you: Solving the human problems of
    managing, or getting on with the many responsibilities of your job?
10. When the performance of one of your people is slipping, do you seek
    him or her out and ask, "How's it going? Anything I can do for you?"

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A final point: Managers who get ahead themselves are invariably good listeners who act upon what they hear.

To Spot the Perfect Manager

If you could somehow poll all the employees in the world--and top management, too--for their ideas on the ideal manager, we submit that Mr. (or Ms.) Perfection would come out something like this:

He is a good listener. He knows his people, what makes them tick--and why--as a result of encouraging them to talk, drawing them out and asking questions. He never dominates a conversation or a meeting, unless for a good reason.

He plays up the positive, recognizing that just as praise is a better stimulus than criticism, so appreciation is better than lack of it and building up a person's self-respect is more resultful than tearing it down. In building up the self-esteem of his people, he builds capable assistants. And, in the long run, this makes his own work easier.

He gives effective work assignments. He knows which of his people respond best to brief, one-at-a-time tasks and which work best under broader gauge assignments. He doesn't set artificially high time pressures, although he understands the value of setting reasonable target dates for assignments that might otherwise stretch out. He anticipates the need for new assignments, stockpiling work assignments so he will be ready when his people complete current ones. At the same time, he schedules work breathers, setting aside time for jobs that need doing such as cleaning out files, maintaining records or reviewing procedures.

He is receptive to new ideas and supports worthy changes, no matter how "revolutionary" they may be. Even if they upset some of his own most cherished beliefs, he is realistic enough to recognize an improvement when he sees one. Nor does he confuse the merit of an idea with the personality of the originator. Dedicated to finding better ways, he is willing to let the chips fall where they may. And if he must go out on a limb for one of his people's ideas that he is convinced is good, he unhesitatingly does so.

He helps his people grow. Because loyalty is a two-way street, he fights for his people when necessary. If a raise is merited, for example, he sees to it that the deserving employee receives it. He informs his people of openings within the company to which they may aspire. He never tries to hold back a good employee, even if it means a transfer to another department or division. In a hundred little ways, he lets his people know that he will go to bat for them.

He never belittles an employee, regardless of the temptation. He realizes that no one likes to think that others regard him as stupid. He will reprimand an employee using any other term--lax, lazy, indifferent--but he knows that calling him stupid will rapidly destroy his initiative. This term flattens most people. After all, how can a person throw himself into his work when he's just been labeled incompetent?

He gives his people his undivided attention. That doesn't mean he devotes every waking moment to his employees. It does mean that, from time to time, he gives his attention to every person under his direct control, individually. When a question, problem or complaint is brought to his attention, he invites the individual involved into his office and, in privacy, gives him his complete attention for however long warranted by the circumstances. He doesn't let the telephone, his secretary or anyone else disturb him.

He communicates. Since the aim of effective communications is to reach the mind of another person, he selects words suited to that person's level of intelligence, background and experience. If his communication requires the use of jargon, he makes sure his audience understands the specialized meaning attached to the words he is using. He defines his terms, is brief without being cryptic, avoids abstractions whenever possible.