Technique: Manage by Walking Around and Listening
MBWAL helps give you a richer view of your team’s work. You’ll be able to see and hear how people are working, including their moods and morale. MBWAL also gives you a chance to talk to people informally.
Guidelines
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Tell people you’re going to leave your office and circulate. Let them know that you’ll be asking them questions.
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Leave your office and walk around. Aim for once or twice a week. Daily is great, but we’ve never met a manager who had the time every day to wander. How long you spend mingling depends. Five minutes is probably not enough. An hour is probably too much.
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Listen to the current conversations.
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Don’t interrupt people who are on the phone or who seem to be working intently. ...
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