When you make yourself available, your team members will know when they can come to you with questions and concerns.

Modeling availability involves managing your time well. It also includes communicating. You may not be free all the time, but make sure you give your team enough time. And make sure you communicate when and how your team members can reach you.

Accessibility

Being accessible, on the other hand, is a matter of attitude. Managers can show accessibility by seeing themselves as a resource for their team.

There’s more research showing that accessibility, along with openness, increases – you guessed it – innovation, particularly with business models and boundary-spanning exploration.

You can be available without being accessible. For example, a manager might make themselves available by having set hours when their door is open, and ensuring their team knows about them. But they may not make others feel comfortable with their behavior.

Accessibility involves a supportive, encouraging attitude. Accessible managers offer guidance to their team and proactively solicit feedback. They make people feel comfortable, building a trusting environment where team members come to them with problems as they’re happening – rather than once it’s too late.

The "Scary Boss" Problem

As a manager or leader, it can be easy to let a power distance develop between you and your team. Some of this is built into the role – you’re “in charge,” and this may intimidate others. You might not even realize it if a sense of distance is growing.

Some managers enjoy having a feeling of authority. Others feel overwhelmed with responsibility and build in supportive measures that may have distancing effects on their team.

For example, in some organizations, junior employees go through a personal assistant to make appointments to meet with someone more senior. Working with an assistant might help the senior person to manage their workload, but it can also intimidate junior members of the team.

Some onsite work environments build in power distance in physical ways, such as allocating reserved parking spots, larger offices, or head-of-the-table seating to managers.

What to Do About It

If your company culture creates distance between you and your team, consider the effects this might have on the people you manage. Do they seem intimidated? Do you seem available and accessible to them? Asking for feedback may be helpful in finding this out.

Consider how you can model inclusive leadership by demonstrating availability and accessibility, regardless of what it says on the organizational chart.

When you make yourself approachable and show you’re there, you’ll know more about what’s happening in your organization. When there’s a problem, you’ll likely understand the situation better. In communicating openly with your team, you can brainstorm, identify and implement solutions together.

Quick Tips

Try these ways of modeling availability with your team:

• Regularly make time to speak with team members and give them your full attention. (If the phone rings, call back.)
• Let them know how and when to reach you.
• Encourage your team to reach out.
• Be present – walk around the office and talk with people, or engage in virtual calls and chat channels.
• Provide platforms for others to share ideas.
• Keep commitments. Don't cancel meetings unless there's an emergency.

And try these tips for modeling accessibility:

• Encourage open and honest conversations.
• Offer guidance and coaching.
• Create a culture of feedback and ask for it yourself.
• Show appreciation of your team and their contributions.
• Offer attention and understanding.
• Give your team members opportunities to grow.

What's Next?

For a more in-depth look at availability, accessibility, and other facets of inclusive leadership, you can sign up for our Skill Bite course Modeling Inclusion.

If you’re wondering how easy your team finds you to connect with, take our quiz How Approachable Are You?

Tip of the Week

Be Assertive, Not Aggressive

By Simon Bell, Mind Tools Content Writer and Editor

Assertiveness isn’t aggression. Being assertive means making your case clearly, while respecting others’ rights and feelings. You can stand up for yourself while maintaining professional relationships and protecting your own reputation. In fact, assertive people are usually seen positively by colleagues.

So, next time you need to stand your ground, follow these tips:

• Show respect. Even in disagreement, avoiding dominating or belittling behavior.
• Don’t interrupt. Let others finish and then engage with their points.
• Control your emotions. Don’t shout, and calm yourself before speaking.
• Consider your words carefully. Thoughtful responses maintain professionalism.
• Recognize others' points. Listen and understand: you’ll foster mutual respect.
• Question, don’t dismiss. It’ll encourage constructive dialogue.
• State your case plainly. Avoid emotional or accusatory language.
• Mind your body language. Keep an open posture and make relaxed eye contact.
• Encourage feedback. Use open-ended questions and clarify responses.
• Ask, don’t command. Request cooperation rather than demanding it.

Pain Points Podcast

How can you develop mental toughness at work? What is it, and how do you benefit from it? On the podcast this week, Jonathan Hancock meets mental toughness expert Paul Lyons. Find out about the key components of mental toughness, how you can measure it, and how you can make it work for you.

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News Roundup

This Week's Global Workplace Insights

Powering Transformation With the 3 Es

Change is a constant these days. Some organizations seem to be in a continuous state of transformation. So how do leaders deal with change, while keeping their people engaged and productive? Consultants McKinsey think they know.

Their three Es – Elevate, Empower and Energize – offer a strategic approach to building momentum and embedding change.

1. Elevate: involve a core group of employees, expanding leadership roles and responsibility across levels. Research shows that organizations engaging 21–30 percent of their workforce in transformation efforts see better results.
2. Empower: if you equip influencers and managers to inspire their colleagues and model new behaviors, you create ripple effects throughout the organization.
3. Energize: inspire employees with a clear, compelling vision for change, so everyone understands how their efforts contribute to the bigger picture.

It’s transformation with a human face. And it might help organizations change in a meaningful, sustainable, collaborative way.

Becoming Unstuck

We spotted an interesting article in Psychology Today by clinical psychologist and brain coach, Melanie A. McNally. She explores the behaviors that can lead us to feel like we're stagnating, such as dwelling in the past, resisting change, and negative self-talk.

The key to change, she says, is mindset and action. If you're feeling stuck, she suggests re-assessing your goals, actively embracing change rather than avoiding it, and spending time with people who energize and inspire you.

Need some help unsticking yourself and getting productive? Try Timeboxing, a great tool to help improve project planning, delegation, time management, and productivity.

See you next week for more member-exclusive content and insight from the Mind Tools team!