The Words We Use 2
A friend is employed at a company with "an open door policy". According to my friend, this policy means anyone, at any time, can walk into any manager's office to discuss any issue.
My friend overheard a manager speaking to another employee about yet another employee complaining to the director about the manager (take that Mrs. Eppes, my second grade English teacher who taught me the meaning of the term run-on sentence!). The manager used the verb "open-doored" to describe the incident.
This is a clue.
If your organization has such a policy and this verb exists in the collective vernacular, then you have a failed policy.
Think about it. The purpose of an open-door policy is to provide a channel for immediate feedback on pressing and/or otherwise important issues. Let's face it: Stuff happens. One thing that distinguishes effective management from ineffective management is accepting this fact. When there's no Stuff going on, everyone looks like a great manager. It's when a manager has to manage Stuff that the metaphorical men are separated from the metaphorical boys.
An open-door policy is one tool to accomplish Stuff Management. When properly implemented and correctly understood, it provides instant feedback on matters that require immediate attention to people in a position to effect the required change. When improperly implemented and misunderstood, it becomes more Stuff.
:{> Andy
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