Most leaders love to say they have an open-door policy.
Most leaders love to say they have an open-door policy.
The intention is good.
But an open door can still be a hiding place.
Because you are still in your office.
Behind your desk.
Waiting for people to come to you.
I know because I used to do it too when I didn’t want to face the chaos and felt I had too much “work” to do.
But presence is the work.
Meanwhile, the real school is happening in the hallways, classrooms, and playgrounds.
If you want trust, you do not build it with availability.
You build it with presence.
Get out of the office.
Walk the campus.
Pop into classrooms.
Stand at the gate.
Eat in the canteen.
Be seen where the work is.
An open-door policy is passive.
Presence is leadership.
Where do you spend most of your time:
in your office or in your school?
What strategies do you use to get out of the office?
(I’ll post some of mine in the comments)
PS. Can you spot the error in the AI cartoon below?
