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Visit people where they work

Leaders are always short on time, but there are important reasons to get out of the office and visit employees. Here are four such reasons.

2 min read

Communication

Visiting with employees in their work space is a good habit that not only shows respect but also allows the leader the opportunity to get an up close and personal look at how the work is going.

At the same time, a leader’s time is valuable; she must ration it carefully so here are some suggestions for when to visit a subordinate. So here are four reasons to do it:

  1. To clear the air. People who work together have disagreements. While it often falls to subordinates to try and smooth things over, when the boss makes the first move and goes to the employee to do it, it conveys a sense of “we’re all in this together.”
  2. To ensure clarity. Some issues require face to face interaction as a means of checking for understanding. The boss’s actual presence may encourage good dialogue that allows each party to ask questions.
  3. To deliver bad news. No one ever likes to give bad news, so when a boss makes a point of going to the employee directly on his turf to give him unpleasant news about a project cancellation, a budget cut or a headcount reduction, it communicates that the cares about the people on his team.
  4. To celebrate. Visits from the boss need not be reserved for tough times; good times are an occasion for celebration. When a boss visits the team at their workplace to congratulate them for a job well done, it’s a good thing. Employees remember it.

John Baldoni is chair of leadership development at N2Growth, is an internationally recognized leadership educator and executive coach. In 2014, Trust Across America named him to its list of top 100 most trustworthy business experts. Also in 2014, Inc.com named Baldoni to its list of top 100 leadership experts, and Global Gurus ranked him No. 11 on its list of global leadership experts. Baldoni is the author of more than a dozen books, including his newest, “MOXIE: The Secret to Bold and Gutsy Leadership.”

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