Monday’s blog about open door policies struck a nerve. Here is an excerpt from one of many e-mails:

“People tell me that I should have one of those number machines outside my door, like the ones they have at the deli. Sometimes, my open door policy really does prevent me from doing my job and meeting deadlines.”

As a manager, people line up outside your door because you have trained them to do that. One day, they had a problem, they brought it to you and you solved it. Now, whenever they have a problem, they bring it to you. As a manager, you have created a downward spiral that continually shifts the burden to your shoulders. If you manage a team of six, you have six people constantly dumping problems on your desk.

Stop it.

As a manager, it is your responsibility to reverse the flow. As a manager, your primary objective is to build a team that can solve its own problems. Train your people to bring you solutions.

One of my clients printed up a small pad of paper that he kept on the corner of his desk. Whenever a team member arrived with a problem, he ripped off the top sheet and sent them to the conference room for ten minutes. Here is what the sheet said:

1. What do you think is causing the problem?
2. Name three solutions that might solve the problem?
3. Which is the best solution that might solve the root cause of the problem?

So, ten minutes later, the manager would go to the conference room, only to find it empty. Problem solved. -TF