I always learned more about what was happening in the business by walking around the office, than by any other method. Staff meetings were fine. Monthly, and in some cases weekly reports were okay. The best way for me was by walking around.
Walking around the office serves a couple of purposes. Teams invariably like their leaders to be visible. They also like to feel their leaders are approachable. If you are out in the aisles talking to anyone and everyone, not just your direct reports, you are all this and more. You are a visible member of the team.
Engaging the team in their space, not in your office or a conference room, put them more at ease. They seemed to open up more. It was a conversation, not a report. It was more of a peer to peer exchange. It was less of a superior to subordinate interrogation.
It worked.
If you need to know what is happening on a deeper level, don’t call people into your office to ask them. Get up and walk over to their area to see them. Sit down and start a conversation. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn just by walking over.
Your comments are so right on the mark. So isn’t it interesting that so few leaders actual do this? You have to ask, why? Are they actually more intimdated by the staff than the staff is of them? Are they afraid they will be put on the spot? My experience has been that the leaders who do create this open and casual atmophere with not only their direct reports but the rest of the staff receive the greatest respect and have a following that is much more likely to aspire with great passion to meet the goals of the organization.
I have worked in a home office on and off for over 20 years. I have been, and continue to be, challenged by how to manage by “walking around” in distributed workplaces. I’ve tried all sorts of technologies, old-school and new- to deal with this. The telephone is always good and online collaboation tools have their place, but nothing compares with getting out of the office (especially if it’s home office), getting on a plane, and meeting face to face with your team on a regular basis. The fact that you are dedicating large chunks of your time sends a couple of very important messages: 1) that you care and 2) that you intend to be actively involved in team and territory development. This is also a great opportunity to meet with customers and observe your employee’s interaction with them, which gives you excellent first-hand information for their performance reviews and development plans.