Open Door Deception

Senior managers often want to sound open and approachable to their staff by telling them they have an open door policy. While this is appreciated by employees, this approach needs to be carefully thought of. Not only can it distract you from your work and you can lose focus to achieve your other goals but it can get your employees thoroughly annoyed when you don’t deliver on your promise. For someone who has the courage to reach out with substantial ideas or grievances, there is nothing worse than finding a closed door, empty office, or pitbull assistant blocking the way. Even worse when an email is sent and there is not even an acknowledgement of reception. Instead, refrain from making promises of open door policy and pleasantly surprise people when you take the time to listen to them. And if you take seriously the open door policy, then block some time for that in your busy schedule and make those hours known to your employees.

What are the motivational factors supporting your job satisfaction?

Whether it is for yourself or to manage your employees, it is always good to keep close to you this pyramid of motivational factors that support job satisfaction. You feel your team is loosing its dynamism or some employees don’t perform as well as usual? Look at the document and see if you can change the mood!

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Reference checks: the ultimate question to reveal the hidden!

Over years, as I looked for candidates to work in my team, I found myself more interested in what former employers had to say about a candidate than what a candidate’s resume might look like. While not underestimating the value of a good resume for selection purposes, nor the interview part to meet candidates in person, I find myself wanting hastily to get to the reference check step of the hiring process. And why is that? Because experience has taught me that this is most of the time where the “rubber hits the road”. This is when a series of former employers, not just one, will validate the candidate or not. And how do you make sure the reference check is not just a discussion of complaisance? By asking one particular question at the end that will reveal the hidden… “Is there something I should know that you are not telling me?” or more politely “Is there something I should be aware of?” This is often when the perfect candidate is suddenly not so perfect anymore, and you get to make a more informed decision. Good luck!

Leadership is about welcoming change

I’ve always liked change even though it’s a little scary at times… the known as well as the unknown. I remember the first time I was asked to carry a Blackberry with me at all times… I felt I was given some kind of movement tracking device, that my time of peace outside working hours would be lost…  Well it turns out I was partially right – I am now working 24/7! But I adjusted and now come to work with a better understanding of what to expect that day and most emergencies already taken care of. Adapting to change, or even managing change, is no easy task.

More and more today, especially with new technologies, I am trying to stay ahead of the curve. I am overwhelmed by the rapid growth of opportunities but I also learn to take time to listen, read, explore, and try to understand how it can help me make my work better. Sometimes I feel like I am wasting my time, sometimes I find inspiration or even a “gold nugget”. I call it “continuing education” although it is also about contributing to innovation, and leadership. Avoiding it is all too risky for me… a sense of inadequacy, keeping with out-dated habits (think working in silo!), missing on opportunities to transform processes or tools, and finally becoming cynical about any change.

So keep your eyes and ears open when it comes to Agora, social media monitoring, open policy development, crowd sourcing, performance measurement tools, or any new tool or concept being thrown at you… and remember to keep exploring, adopting, and adapting to change! My Blackberry changed the way I work and eventually turned out to be a liberating device.