bEING aPPROACHABLE

​Tips To Being Approachable

​Are you an intimidating or an approachable leader?  Do you feel like your team or employees can express their ideas, thoughts, and concerns easily to you? Maybe the other question is do you want them to?  Either way, people want to communicate and feel heard whether they work directly or indirectly with one another or with you. 
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Here are some quick tips & reminders on how to be approachable:
1- Offer staff & employees a specific or directed way to voice their ideas & thoughts. Use a simple survey at beginning or end of a staff meeting. Decide if you want to discuss concerns now as a group or later individually. Or pass around survey in the office to be collected and followed up on. –And acknowledge it. Evan if it’s a group email.                                                                                                                   
2- Have a designated time each day when staff knows you are available. Be open to talk for given amount of time… set a limit to be respectful of each other’s time & responsibility, depending on importance of issue.

3- Set aside certain day of the week (or month) to meet with team members. Depending on how formal or informal you choose it to be, you may want keep this consistent.  Also, ask individuals to bring in ideas on how to improve the concern or problem, if it is an issue to be dealt with.

​And of course, using good ol’ manners always helps. Smile. Thank your team for the opportunity to communicate with them and come up with ideas and solutions that can be beneficial.  

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