How Office Hours Helped Me Serve My Team Better

The idea of an open door policy has been a management tactic for decades but little did I know its origin until I decided to write this article. Over a century ago, the concept was created as a principle designed to open up equal trade between China and other countries. The idea of the "open door" was that everyone now had equal access to China. Today, the open door policy is an encouraged practice in business to increase communication and transparency and build trust with team members.

But how many of us really, truly believe that there is an open door policy consistently executed in our organizations? I mean, people say their door is open but sometimes you walk by an office hoping to catch someone and they are never there. Other times you reach out to a colleague via email, text or phone call because you need some help and you never hear back from them. Sure, we all get busy and making time to connect but, if we can't do that, it's difficult for people to take advantage of your open door.

As a servant leader, an open door policy is one of the most important things you can do for your team. The simple question "how can I help?" opens the conversation and creates space for team members to share problems and ideas. I figure that if someone has gathered up the energy (and, in some cases, courage) to ask for help, they must really need it. Being fully present and authentic in that moment encourages them to come back again and builds trust.

When I was at Starbucks, I instituted what I called "office hours" to make my open door policy live and breathe. As an executive, my calendar was often booked back-to-back all day long making it hard for people to track me down. My assistant was constantly interrupted to provide people windows of time as to when they might catch me (like the guy in the cartoon above). The idea for office hours was inspired by the concept of management standard work in Lean. I had toured a company that really embodied Lean principles and the owner of the company structured his day so that he could maximize his time spent coaching continuous improvement and problem solving. Office hours aren't part of Lean but I thought they might help me better help my team by establishing a routine for myself.

I posted a 30-60 minute open time slot each morning on my office window and in my instant messenger profile and worked hard to protect the time. Sometimes, there would be a line up outside my door with folks just needing a minute for a quick question. Others came with bigger problems to solve or for a more in-depth conversation. It also happened on occasion that no one stopped by so I used the time to catch up on email or a project. I initially got teased about my office hours as being compared to that of a college professor but, in time, the idea was a welcome one in a meeting manic culture. It moved work along more effectively and efficiently and fostered relationship building and learning.

My office hours became more broadly known and soon I had people stopping by from other departments for career advice or leadership coaching. Even though I was in Operations, people from Finance, Marketing, Human Resources and Research and Development were frequent visitors, often looking for someone that would offer a listening ear and perhaps a different perspective or opinion. Regardless of why they came by or where they worked, everyone could take advantage of my availability as it was always based on first come, first served.

Soon I noticed other leaders started adopting the concept. Some stuck with it but most had a hard time keeping the time protected as it would be sucked up by an emergency or usurped by another meeting. I held on to my office hours with a vengeance, resisting requests from others to book that time for something else. Sometimes I had to shift the time block but rarely did I have to cancel it as I remained steadfastly committed to the practice and the people that benefited from it and I always got something out of it too.

Since I've left Starbucks, I still have an open door policy but I don't have an office (or a door) and my schedule isn't as booked as intensely as it was so it's easier for my team to get time with me. However, I do get requests frequently from people outside the company for career coaching or leadership advice and I do my best to honor these requests. Helping each other makes the world go round and we can't move forward by ourselves.

An open door policy is more than just a business leadership tactic - it's an act of humanity and caring about others. Next time someone comes to you for help, keep your door open (literally and figuratively) and be ready to listen and learn. Let them know you are available before they even ask -your connection with them may be just the thing they need to jolt a new idea, give them confidence in a pending decision or help them look at a problem from a different angle. Our number one role as leaders is to develop others and your open door policy is a key to their growth and performance.