Summary.
Do your employees bring you every little “speed bump” in their day? Here are four strategies for minimizing these interruptions and empowering employees to make their own decisions: 1) Put an emphasis on attention management. Start by identifying whether an “open-door policy” is something that is stated or promoted in your organization. If so, make it explicit with a clear definition. An open-door policy was never intended to mean that anyone is available to be interrupted at any time for any reason. 2) Promote self-confidence in your staff. Set boundaries for your employees, making sure they understand the responsibilities of their role, the types of decisions they can and should make on their own, and the general limits of their authority. 3) Embrace the tough decisions. If there are employees whose judgment you don’t trust, try to understand why, so you can find remedies. 4) Emphasize the idea that mistakes are opportunities to learn. Hold team members accountable to their decisions by using mistakes as teaching opportunities.
