Being accessible is not just having an “open door policy” or ensuring your team knows your cellphone number. Accessibility is about creating an atmosphere where your colleagues can reach you – even interrupt you – and leave the interaction with a positive feeling.
Accessibility is the degree in which colleagues can reach you and benefit from the interaction.
Your office door is always closed. Are you accessible? Perhaps you possess low self-awareness of how your behaviors in your organization diminish outreach by others. You can be heard decrying “No one ever tells me anything!” and “How come I am always the last to hear about these things?” When you think about it, you may discover that you are less accessible than you think you are. Do any of the following characteristics seem familiar to you when you think about being accessible to others?
You rush frantically between conference calls or meetings with little time to talk to others.
You get easily annoyed when a colleague reaches out to you (especially if the outreach feels like an interruption).
Your back faces the entrance to your office or workstation.
Your interactions with your colleagues never seem to benefit them.
No one comes to you for help.
