Proximity to boss does make a difference

Coming from an individualistic culture, I continue to be fascinated by the group-oriented nature of society. Observing entourages accompanying local dignitaries has sparked my intrigue in understanding why they spend their time to be a part of the delegation.

Beyond the obvious and primary intention of displaying respect, there appears to be another driving force — proximity. This left me with a question, "Is there a benefit from being close to a manager?"

It is said that Majlis (meeting) attendance and presence in the green room are hugely beneficial as it is in these settings that many of the (presumably) ad-hoc discussions and allocation of significant projects take place. So what happens when you are not present? Simply stated — presence reveals availability.

Does the same hold true in every day business settings? Do people who are present benefit from casual face time? The actual term for this is passive face time and it is highly related to the perception of organisational citizenship. Through face-time, managers make judgments about their employees.

For example, consider my dad's advice when I first entered the working world. He said: "If you want to succeed, you need to do three things: 1) be sure you are at your desk everyday when your boss arrives to work, 2) be in the office everyday when your boss leaves, and 3) make sure your name crosses his/her desk." Hopefully, it will take more than this to succeed in a career.

Dependability

Let's evaluate this simple piece of advice to understand passive face-time. It is embedded in the concept of proximity and you can imagine the impact it has. If a boss sees an employee arrive early and stay late, chances are he/she will be impressed with the employee's dedication to the company. In this instance, proximity reveals availability and dependability.

This practice breaks the myth of ‘leave me alone and allow me to get on with my work.' While this may be beneficial to completing tasks, it may be career suicide — remember the cliché "out of sight, out of mind". The point is there is great value in followers' proximity to a leader as an indicator of employee's status, performance evaluations, raises, promotions and job security.

Managers should be asking the inverse question, "Should managers concern themselves with their proximity to their followers?" Common sense says, "Yes". A manager's proximity to his or her followers does make a difference.

In very similar ways, managers impact their employees through face-time. Especially in group-oriented cultures, managers need to get out of their offices and spend time in proximity to their employees. Why? It is through regular and consistent face time that the essentials for leading high-performance are embedded. This includes building trust, displaying values and work styles, motivation, communication of expectations, monitoring of performance and feedback/coaching.

Interaction

While these are basics of solid leadership, they are best carried out day by day in the workplace. With all of the advances of technology and modernisation, nothing replaces the impact of face-to-face interaction and proximity is the key.

In conclusion — whether you are a manager or an employee — your proximity matters. It promotes awareness, evaluation and performance. So, make sure you are in proximity — location gains significance.

 - Dr. Tommy Weir is vice- president of Leadership Solutions at Kenexa