Is Your Open-door Policy Killing Your Productivity?
The short answer is “Yes”! From my over 2 decades of experience in multiple C-Suites across various stages of growth and industries, this is my take on it.
I see this more often with new executives and founders, however every manager, no matter what level has been guilty of this at some point.
Managers and Executives want to be perceived as being as accessible as they have been in the past. What they don’t understand is, that as they grow in their role, they need to set some boundaries to ensure that they are as productive and effective as possible in scaling not only their companies - but also their careers.
Generally, when I see an Executive with a liberal open-door policy, they have implemented this because they don’t want to give the impression to their teams that they are in the “Executive Suite” or “Ivory Tower”. They want to be seen as approachable and that “we are all in this together”.
Let me state this quite clearly. An open-door policy should not mean that your door is wide open and anyone can walk in at any time (virtually or in person). What it should mean is that you are accessible.
WHY should you not be completely available?
Quite simply, if you are able to be interrupted by anyone at any time, you would literally get nothing done!
Take this study from Gloria Mark, PhD, who is a Professor of Informatics at the University of California - Irvine.
She conducted a study a few years back to measure interruptions and their effect on the productivity of workers and this is what she found…
The average worker gets interrupted from their work every 11 minutes. Yes, you read that right. Every. 11. Minutes. You can of course expect to be interrupted at work, but this?
Now, if getting interrupted approximately 5 times every hour wasn’t bad enough, the study also revealed that it takes between 23 - 25 minutes to get back to the level of productivity one was at prior to the interruption.
If you are constantly being interrupted at work, you will not work at peak productivity at all!
This is why it is imperative that you set clear boundaries with your team on what they can approach you with and when. It’s not hierarchical, it’s common sense. Some basics guidelines would be:
For X questions - send an email
For Y situations, request a time for a meeting. (Your assistant will ensure topics and times are optimized)
For urgencies (and your team should understand what “urgent” to the company actually means) then an interruption is warranted and how that should happen
To create even more productivity in your work day, ensure that you or your assistant book and maintain dedicated work time on your calendar. Block off focus time when you silence your email and phone alerts and actually do some concentrated work. (More on that in another blog post)
Other ideas to ensure that you are still accessible AND productive are:
Set up office hours,
Monthly Ask Me Anything sessions (these are great to do in groups of no more than 10. Have the attendees come with one thing they see as going well, one thing for improvement, and then general Q&A)
Coffee or lunch with the boss, etc.
Your assistant will be able to organize these and other opportunities for connection and building social capital with your teams, for you.
What is the outcome?
If you set the example for your team to maintain boundaries and you are able to increase your effectiveness - this will have a trickle-down effect on your teams and you will all be more effective!
