Two things we know: Employees would like more
feedback from their bosses and they'd like to be heard as well. In
one recent survey, 66 percent of employees said they had too little interaction with their bosses.
It's tempting to blame that on supervisors who consciously keep their distance from staff. But I suspect there's more at work here. Even well-intentioned bosses contribute to the disconnect. I call it The Myth of the Open Door.
That's what exists when managers, knowing interaction is a two-way street, announce that they have an Open Door Policy. They state, and believe in their hearts, that people who report to them are free to stop by and share what's on their minds.
Because
some staffers walk right in, the managers see it as proof that the policy works. But that logic is built on counting those who show up rather than those who don't.
It's easy for bosses to assume that since the door is always open, those who opt not to stop in are satisfied with the status quo.
It can be a real surprise when managers discover that to some staff, the open door mantra is a myth. Good employees can feel shut out.
Read on to see the four ways that this can happen.
