Leadership/Management
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Open door
Open books
opens up opportunities In the Wall Street Journal Guide to Management, Alan Murray states that, “leadership is less about your needs, and more about the needs of the people and the organization you are leading.”
ne of the best ways I have found to meet the needs of staff is to be open and accessible, both as a leader and with the information we use to manage. This may seem rudimentary, but at a basic human level, we all have a need to be part of something greater than ourselves. We like to have access to information, connect with people, and have the tools we need to excel professionally. When all employees understand the vision of the firm’s leadership, know the people they work with on a personal level, and are kept informed regarding the firms’ performance, they tend to be more engaged and develop a sense of ownership. As a firm, having an open door policy encourages interaction among all levels of leadership and roles. Ideas tend to flow freely, employees feel empowered, and employees enjoy a sense of greater purpose. This, in turn, leads to the development of a culture of entrepreneurialism that can take the
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firm to even higher levels of creativity and performance. In addition to having an open door policy that encourages interaction, employees must have a solid understanding of the business and the tools leadership uses to manage the firm. Open books, or being transparent regarding metrics and financial performance allows employees to better understand the challenges leadership faces. Staff can ask questions, challenge the status quo, recognize the part they play in the mission and vision of the company, and clearly see the results of their actions. It gives them the opportunity to strive for improvement when needed and to celebrate successes. If you truly want to encourage openness, you must also be willing to gather feedback and not just push out information. Feedback can be eyeopening at times, but it also keeps you connected with your employees. This openness yields countless opportunities to strengthen your company both internally and externally. Some might think that providing performance information to all staff seems like a risky business practice. From my perspective, I think it is far more risky to have a company filled with people that don’t understand the true workings of your business. It is much better to have employees that have a sense of pride and ownership because they helped shape the organization. In our particular field, recognition is given for the best engineering/architectural firms to work for. Additionally, there is also recognition given for top performing firms. It is no coincidence that some of the top performing firms are also considered some of the best firms to work for. For these firms, an open door leadership style and open book management meet the needs of the employees, opening up a collective world of new opportunities. PB Steve Burian, PE is CEO of AE2S, a civil engineering firm that has 13 offices located in North Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota. Visit www.AE2S.com to learn more.
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