Mind Your Language!
I’m not talking about
words here, but behaviour. I have a
client whose offices allow for most staff to have their own office. In my opinion, this is great as it means
people have the privacy to concentrate in peace and are therefore more
productive.
What’s more interesting is the way that people act in their
“caves”. Most of them (even the MD) leave
the door open, but there’s one I’ve noticed who goes onto his office, closes
the blinds and the door. I know he’s busy and needs to concentrate,
but it’s not the case that there’s a constant queue of people to see him.
What he’s saying is, “Stay away...”
I know he’s more of an introvert, but it’s interesting that,
previously, he left his door open until he moved offices. People now feel they’re intruding if they
need to see him and have to knock on his door.
He could, of course, be saying that he’s busy and can't be
disturbed (what a closed door usually means).
However, when the door’s closed all the time, that sends a message.
Another person I know always keeps his door closed, but that’s
the way he’s always been and he was a senior military officer before who was
clearly used to “that system”. Everyone
just “knows” they can knock and go in to see him.
We’re not always aware of what we might be signalling to others
by our actions, or that our behaviour can be interpreted in different ways by
others depending on the situation, the mood they're in, their upbringing and
any other number of factors. What might
seem “normal” to one person could be deeply offensive to another.
Awareness is the key.
I don't advocate tiptoeing around other people – we are who we are, but
an understanding and awareness of how behaviour impacts on others as well as
how their actions impact us is one of the most interesting studies one can do!
posted by William Martin @ 08:57
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