How much of the time is your door closed?

That's my question: how much of the time are you behind closed doors while at work?

The point I'm getting at is for you to realize how much of the time you are out mixing it up with the troops and/or customers and how much of the time you are available for your people. Do you know?

Try an experiment. Take a guess at how much of the time you're in your office with the door shut. Assign a % to it. Then talk to at least one of your employees and ask him or her the same question: "What percentage of the time do you think I spend in my office with the door closed?" You may be surprised with the answer. Whether their answer is more or less than what you think, I'd bet it's not the same, maybe not even close.

As a leader, you're probably a pretty busy person. And as a leader, your most valuable resource is...what is it? It's your people! You need to ensure you're spending time with them and are available for them on a regular basis. Otherwise, bad things can happen.

Be on guard and have some realization about your availability for your people.