Open door policy

In theory, the 'open door policy' term makes sense. It’s an invitation to drop in anytime to share your ideas and your concerns.

Every employee wants to feel confident that their supervisor is open to listening, whilst knowing that there will be no negative consequences for interrupting with a legitimate issue.

In practice, however, the door could well be open, but it’s more than likely your boss is not sitting at their desk waiting for your visit – they’ve got other work to do.

The days of managers managing have long gone

There was a time when a manager's role was to manage their team. Each member of their team had a job description with some quite specific performance requirements.

The job of the manager was to work one-on-one with each member of their team to ensure each employee is successful at achieving their performance targets.

The manager would also spend time building the team dynamics so that the overall outcome exceeded the sum of the parts. But then something dramatic happened to make this model of managing impossible.

The big change was the wipeout of middle managers in traditional organisation hierarchies, which forced organisations to give managers their own set of KPIs to achieve on top of those for their direct reports.

As an example, sales managers now have their own targets to achieve with their own clients, along with guiding their sales representatives to achieve their respective targets. 

Predictably, these changes brought about some unintended changes in the behaviour of the average manager.

Managers feel intense pressure to achieve their own targets at all costs as they can’t credibly performance manage their team members if they themselves are underachieving.

Some managers may even manipulate the client lists and targets to give themselves the best chance of achieving budget. 

The biggest consequence of this change in approach is that managers are no longer as available to support their direct reports because they are too busy doing their own work.

Managers are needed now more than ever

It would appear this change in the manager’s role has not been accompanied by a decline in the needs of their direct reports.

If anything, the need for support, guidance, mentoring, direction, and coaching has increased.

Workplace pressures have increased, and workers are seeking more supportive and collaborative environments to produce their best work.

Schedule time and team-based approaches

One option for managers struggling to balance their personal goals with team objectives and the growing demands of direct reports is to adopt a more collaborative, team-based approach.

By sharing the challenge openly, managers can invite fresh perspectives and shared responsibility. Asking the team, 'How might we support each other better to achieve our collective targets?' can lead to practical, co-created solutions.

Some more experienced direct reports could also coach the new hires on the role.

By simply sharing approaches to meeting client needs, new ways could be revealed to grow the business across every portfolio. A buddy system could also ensure everyone plays a role in checking in on the needs of at least one other team member.

Ultimately, the manager has accountability for achieving the performance outcomes of their business unit, so the spotlight shines brighter on them than the rest of the team.

In recognition of this fact, the manager could schedule time in the calendar when they are available to meet with team members who have something to share.

It’s not as spontaneous and as accessible as the traditional open door approach demands, but it is at least predictable and provides an opportunity for workers to engage with their manager.