Do you have a need to be needed?
It’s a little strange to admit to someone other than your spouse or therapist, but knowing that you are the go-to person with the inside scoop is pretty cool. Who knows? You could be offering information that transforms your sleepy company into a behemoth. People will think of you as a master, a sensei, a wizard, and…someone who never has enough time to get stuff done.
Sure, it feels good to be a guru, but it comes at a price. Your open-door policy might make you feel like you’re being helpful, but quick questions add up. Soon, you won’t have time for anything else in your day. Can we not have our cake and eat it, too? Should we relegate meetings and discussions to chatrooms and emails? Should we close the door and close our hearts?
No, no and no! One on one meetings aren’t the problem; it’s all in how you hold them. If you’ve taken my LinkedIn Learning course, Improving Your Focus, you know that I believe in closing the “open door” and adopting a closed-door, open-calendar policy. Yes, that means, sometimes, saying no. However, when one door closes, new doors open.
If you want to be both helpful and productive, you need to check out this clip from Improving Your Focus. In the end, it’s your decision: How do you feel about “open door policies?”
Protect: Set up a closed door, open calendar policy from Improving Your Focus by Dave Crenshaw
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