Let's start with the latter where today I just do not have the same type of day-to-day conversation with everyone that is part of my team. I realize now that as an executive I am no longer considered "one of them" or part of the rank and file and in the end probably should not be - well at least not completely. Some level of distance is healthy - it provides my managers the ability and confidence to effectively lead. They should be the ones developing a close relationship with their employees and not me.
As an example, although I always maintain an open door policy with anyone in my organization I am cautious when approached directly by an individual that is bypassing their manager. I listen to what the employee has to say but in almost all cases defer to their manager trusting in their ability to resolve the issue. To be completely honest one of the driving reasons I do communicate more with those that do not directly report to me these days is time. I realize what a valuable commodity time is for me personally and I now use it judiciously.
As far what level of communication I have with my managers I have put quite a of thought into this as of late. Looking back at the successful managers from my past what made them great was their ability to cultivate a strong relationship with those that worked for them. Knowing what makes their employees tick - what motivates them and makes them happy. The best managers always seemed to make me feel comfortable going to them with issues - those inside and and some cases outside of the office. This only helped build a stronger bond and made me more productive.
In a recent discussion w/ our CEO he brought up another great point I hadn't considered and caused me to completely rethink how I interact with those I manage. Responsibility he believes must also be on the employee to initiate communication. I can't always be the one that makes sure this happens. This fosters a healthy amount of independence with certain tasks. Our discussion led to my realization that if I'm fulfilling my new role correctly, I ultimately become more of an arbitrator of decisions. My team should already have considered alternatives and made a decision before coming to me. I can then simply weigh in when competing viewpoints are raised.
