WHAT MESSAGES ARE NUMBER TWOS SENDING?

As a leader, you are not the only one who sets the tone in the organization. Those closest to you may have considerably more operational contact with staff and, therefore, as much or more influence on corporate culture. Because of this, they may, intentionally or not, create an atmosphere that inhibits staff from sending you important information. This can work in many ways:

In their efforts to support you and help you manage your time, they may be overprotective.

You may have implicitly given them the unofficial role of “bad cops” who are to keep complaints from reaching you.

They may find information someone wants to give you personally threatening or threatening to a colleague.

They may be perceived to be so close to you that your loyalty to them won’t allow you to hear complaints about their behavior.

The qualities that suit them for their functional roles may not suit them for being your cultural intermediary.

As a leader, you are responsible not only for the cultural and moral tone you set personally, but also for the tone set by those with whom you surround yourself.

You must stay alert to this tone. Regardless of how or why the flow of important information gets interrupted, it can be detrimental to your decision making. If you have shone the light on yourself and corrected any ways in which you personally have dissuaded staff from communicating critical information, yet you still rarely hear divergent or troublesome views, you need to look further. What message are staff getting from other members of your direct team who are perceived to wield power in the organization?

You might go about this as follows:

Ask staff, informally or by confidential survey, if any of your direct reports dissuade them from appropriately using the open door policy.

If you discover staff are being dissuaded from using the open door policy, clearly convey your values and expectations in this regard to your direct reports.

Do not do so accusatorily as this may cause trouble for the junior staff. If you get a whiff of subsequent retaliatory action against staff who bring information to you, take clear disciplinary action that sends an unequivocal message across the organization.

Ask your senior staff whether you seem to be conveying conflicting values to them regarding communication to you. If so, clarify your intention and the procedures to use.

Your team will tend to act in ways they believe you value. Pay attention to their behavior and use it as a mirror for the values you are projecting.