74. The Myth of The Open Door Policy

You pride yourself on how freely your staff can come to talk to you, right? As a school leader, you always want to be seen as an approachable and available director or owner that makes your staff feel heard. The “open door policy” has trickled into our school culture, because we think that it makes our staff feel valued and appreciated since they know they can come to talk to us at any time, for anything. In corporate, the open door policy means that all employees can bring their concerns, desires, or problems to company leaders at any time. This was intended to show that the leaders and executives care about what their employees have to say. The intention here is GREAT. The end result isn’t You want to be available and approachable. You want your staff to feel heard and seen. You want your teachers to feel appreciated and valued. But know this: “The leader who is always available, isn’t truly listening.” This podcast episode is a reair of one of the first and most important topics where I speak about:  The myth of the open door policy How the application of this myth is likely to negatively impact your school What you should be doing instead Resources and links mentioned in this episode: Access the School of Excellence Time Management Bundle for only $47 here: http://chanie.me/time Access the Scripts Workbook here: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/script-workbook/ Download the free door sign here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IXZpXOMoNNnedkkUyfAZWSoLIfBkGtFt/view?usp=sharing More about the show: If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and a beautiful quality of life.    Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.Mentioned in this episode:New School Playbook WorkshopAre you ready to stop guessing what your families want and start knowing exactly how to connect with every family in your school? You will learn how to implement 5 power plays: 1. Know Your Families: Learn the exact data points that predict family satisfaction and longevity. 2. Speak Their Language: Master the art of creating parent avatars, a proven template that’s revolutionized communication for hundreds of schools. 3. Be Where They Are: Discover the channels and messages that resonate with modern families. (Stop wasting time on platforms your families don’t use!) 4. Train The Troops: Transform your team and teachers into family engagement experts, including our “quick-win” scripts for common scenarios. 5. Sync Your Calendars: Build a communication calendar that keeps families engaged and referring new ones! Visit: schoolsofexcellence.com/familiesNew School Playbook