Come on In the Door is Open

I received a call from a recruiter that I worked with years ago. He reminded me of the time he and his staff flew out to our office for a meeting to discuss sourcing strategies for identifying and hiring new employees. He recalled that during our meeting a staff member interrupted to let me know that one of our employees was in my office and wanted to speak with me. (I have always had an open door policy, especially for my hourly staff.) He remembered that I excused myself from the meeting and met with the employee. Our conference room had a large glass window and while I was speaking with the employee, he was observing our conversation. Shortly thereafter the employee left and I returned to our meeting. He recalled that the employee was distraught and when he left I placed my arm around his shoulders, which resulted in a smile on his face.

The recruiter said that my brief exchange with my employee had a significant impact on him. He said in all of his travels across the country, and out of all of the managers he had met, he had never seen a manager interact with employees in that way. He said for me to excuse myself from a meeting to speak with an employee was very unusual, but admirable. It totally caught me off guard to hear of the lasting impression those few minutes had made on him.

Before I landed a leadership position I remember so many times when I wanted to speak with my boss and many times he seemed to be disinterested in speaking with me or his door stayed shut for long periods of time and you dare not interrupt him. When I had questions or just wanted his help with an issue he could be short with me. I never liked the way it made me feel, unimportant, in the way, or a bother.

In the movie Ever After, Danielle (played by Drew Barrymore) is having a conversation with Henry (played by Dougray Scott). During the interchange she reminded him of the importance of the people (peasants) he leads.

Danielle: The Prince has read Utopia?
Henry: I found it sentimental and dull. Honestly, the plight of the everyday rustic bores me.
Danielle: I... take it you do not converse with many peasants.
Henry: Ha, certainly not, no. Naturally.
Danielle: Forgive me, Your Highness, but there is nothing "natural" about it. A country's character is defined by its "everyday rustics," as you call them. They are the legs you stand on and that position demands respect,...”

“They are the legs you stand on and that position demands respect.” No leader ever accomplishes anything without the legs of an organization—those legs are its people. I am always cognizant of that fact and as a result, I will always take the time to speak with the people that work for me, and my door will always remain open.