{"id":3892,"date":"2014-05-05T16:40:10","date_gmt":"2014-05-05T21:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/?p=3892"},"modified":"2025-03-11T11:30:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T16:30:33","slug":"the-door-to-my-office-is-always-open-or-is-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/the-door-to-my-office-is-always-open-or-is-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The Door to My Office is Always Open, or is it?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"3892\" class=\"elementor elementor-3892\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-eadbe4f elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"eadbe4f\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-90f2e67\" data-id=\"90f2e67\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-05727af elementor-widget elementor-widget-template\" data-id=\"05727af\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"template.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-template\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"section\" data-elementor-id=\"12411\" class=\"elementor elementor-12411\" data-elementor-post-type=\"elementor_library\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1255d61 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-content-middle elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1255d61\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-66 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6264de3\" data-id=\"6264de3\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-61125fc elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-title elementor-page-title elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"61125fc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Door to My Office is Always Open, or is it?<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2c1117e elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"2c1117e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-info.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-inline-items elementor-icon-list-items elementor-post-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-fcfa45b elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/author\/lbwebmaster\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-far-user-circle\" viewBox=\"0 0 496 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M248 104c-53 0-96 43-96 96s43 96 96 96 96-43 96-96-43-96-96-96zm0 144c-26.5 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href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/2014\/05\/05\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-calendar\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M12 192h424c6.6 0 12 5.4 12 12v260c0 26.5-21.5 48-48 48H48c-26.5 0-48-21.5-48-48V204c0-6.6 5.4-12 12-12zm436-44v-36c0-26.5-21.5-48-48-48h-48V12c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12h-40c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v52H160V12c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12h-40c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v52H48C21.5 64 0 85.5 0 112v36c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h424c6.6 0 12-5.4 12-12z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-date\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time>May 5, 2014<\/time>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-9c8288a elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"commentCount\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/the-door-to-my-office-is-always-open-or-is-it\/#respond\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-far-comment-dots\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M144 208c-17.7 0-32 14.3-32 32s14.3 32 32 32 32-14.3 32-32-14.3-32-32-32zm112 0c-17.7 0-32 14.3-32 32s14.3 32 32 32 32-14.3 32-32-14.3-32-32-32zm112 0c-17.7 0-32 14.3-32 32s14.3 32 32 32 32-14.3 32-32-14.3-32-32-32zM256 32C114.6 32 0 125.1 0 240c0 47.6 19.9 91.2 52.9 126.3C38 405.7 7 439.1 6.5 439.5c-6.6 7-8.4 17.2-4.6 26S14.4 480 24 480c61.5 0 110-25.7 139.1-46.3C192 442.8 223.2 448 256 448c141.4 0 256-93.1 256-208S397.4 32 256 32zm0 368c-26.7 0-53.1-4.1-78.4-12.1l-22.7-7.2-19.5 13.8c-14.3 10.1-33.9 21.4-57.5 29 7.3-12.1 14.4-25.7 19.9-40.2l10.6-28.1-20.6-21.8C69.7 314.1 48 282.2 48 240c0-88.2 93.3-160 208-160s208 71.8 208 160-93.3 160-208 160z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-comments\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo Comments\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a17d19d elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"a17d19d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"text-align:center;\u201d>\r\n<span class=\"bsf-rt-reading-time\"><span class=\"bsf-rt-display-label\" prefix=\"Reading Time\">\n\t\t<\/span> <span class=\"bsf-rt-display-time\" reading_time=\"2\"><\/span> \n\t\t<span class=\"bsf-rt-display-postfix\" postfix=\"mins\"><\/span><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-70a0327\" data-id=\"70a0327\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-228f411 elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-featured-image elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"228f411\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-featured-image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/open-door-sf-qon9iy2gnl8rc5v7rtbvz7if8oibisydpdx1aobi0w.jpg\" title=\"open-door-sf\" alt=\"Open Door Policy\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-19b92e83 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"19b92e83\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7f29a52e\" data-id=\"7f29a52e\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7ac59c28 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7ac59c28\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>How Do You Get the Real Story?<\/h2><p>A recent discussion on tapping knowledge resources led me to consider what works and what doesn&#8217;t. I recall my first exposure to the concept of an executive open door policy. It was a comedy album that my parents used to enjoy&#8230;.<\/p><blockquote><p><em><strong>&#8220;The door to my office is always open. I think you all know why its open. It was also stolen. I&#8217;d like that returned too.&#8221; \u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<br \/>&#8211; Bob Newhart in the role of a departing submarine captain addressing his crew, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Button-Down-Mind-Bob-Newhart\/dp\/B000002MSU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-3893 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/open-door-sf.jpg\" alt=\"Open Door Policy\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/open-door-sf.jpg 300w, https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/open-door-sf-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>The physical state of your office door is less significant than your mindset for seeking insight from your stakeholders. They include anyone impacted by the success of your organization and those who can hold valuable insight into what&#8217;s really going on.<\/p><p>When you&#8217;re spending most of your time working <strong><em>in<\/em><\/strong> your business rather than <strong><em>on<\/em> <\/strong>your business, you&#8217;re likely creating unspoken barriers to both seeking and receiving information from those with the real story about your operation and your marketplace.<\/p><h3>Truth vs. Candor<\/h3><p>While information is shared, you should always be aware of the difference between truth and candor.\u00a0 All too often, people are truthful without being forthcoming enough for you to learn the real story.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/getting-the-real-story\/\">&gt;&gt; More on Truth vs. Candor &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/strong><\/p><h3>Beyond the Open Door<\/h3><p>The open door policy is a reactive approach to seeking information. Tom Peters&#8217; 1982 best seller, <strong><em><a id=\"static_txt_preview\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/006045153X\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=211189&amp;creative=373489&amp;creativeASIN=006045153X&amp;link_code=as3&amp;tag=chicaexecuc0b-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In Search of Excellence, Lessons from America&#8217;s Best Run Companies<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, suggested a more proactive approach to seeking stakeholder insight. He used the acronym, <strong>MBWA<\/strong>: Management By Wandering Around. He discussed the value of getting out from behind your desk and into the field or on to shop floor and meeting with customers, vendors and employees.<\/p><p>While Bob Newhart and Tom Peters are dated references, is the need to understand our stakeholders&#8217; needs, capabilities and challenges any less relevant today?<\/p><h3>\u00a0Open Door Policy: How Do You Rate?<\/h3><ul><li>How approachable are you, really? Are you getting the candid feedback you need?<\/li><li>How proactive are you in seeking the real story: not only what is happening, but why?<\/li><li>When is the last time you took a stakeholder to lunch? How frequently should you be doing so?<\/li><li>How much proactive wandering have you done in the past week? How might you improve?<\/li><li>Do you use a &#8220;My door is always open&#8221; mindset as an excuse for not proactively seeking the information you really need?<\/li><\/ul><p>Your answers are out there. Just don&#8217;t expect them to come knocking on your door. Even if it&#8217;s open. In fact, in our world of excessive political correctness and cover-your-tail mindsets, all of your wandering around and open door invitations can still fail to deliver what&#8217;s really needed for effective decisions: candor. And how much wandering around time do you really have?<\/p><h3>Related Articles<\/h3><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/getting-the-real-story\/\">Getting the REAL Story<\/a><\/li><li><a title=\"Your Mind Is Like A Parachute\" href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/is-your-mind-is-like-a-parachute\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Your Mind is Like a Parachute<\/a><\/li><li><a title=\"Management By Telepathy\" href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/management-by-telepathy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Management by Telepathy<\/a><\/li><li><a title=\"Feedback: Breakfast of Champions\" href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/feedback-breakfast-of-champions\/\">Feedback: Breakfast of Champions<\/a><\/li><\/ul><hr \/><h3>\u00a0<\/h3><h3>A Word From Our Sponsor<\/h3><p>There is an <strong>alternative solution for getting the real story<\/strong>.\u00a0 Some clients successfully delegate the assignment to me.\u00a0 I have some proven methods to gain valuable, yet previously elusive candor. As an impartial outsider, I can discover previously unspoken challenges that, as an insider, you can&#8217;t.<\/p><p><a title=\"Contact\" href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/contact\/\">Contact me<\/a> and we&#8217;ll discuss how it works.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The physical state of your office door is less significant than your mindset for seeking insight from your stakeholders. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[230,29,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feedback","category-leadership-development","category-truth-vs-candor"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/open-door-sf.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1I2Yr-10M","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3892"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16868,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3892\/revisions\/16868"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}