When you walk into the boss’s office and they are facing you, what message does that send? It says, ‘We both know who’s in charge here’. That positioning, that posture shows that the boss is ready, willing and able to face issues and solve problems NOW! When you walk into that office arrangement be prepared for decisions to be made, whether or not you like them. Managers who set up their office with a commanding posture have a clear vision for the future of their enterprise. Their decisions will fit into that long-range plan which can be confusing when you’re just looking for a short-term answer.
If you’re habitually frustrated by a boss’s decisions, then turn yourself around and look at it from their side of the desk, literally. It is like the Indian adage of walking a mile in a person’s moccasins before you criticize them. Consider what they are seeing when they are working, adopt their perspective. Face the same quadrant of the compass as your boss and see if you are inspired by the same stars.
How to Place the Desks
Although there are times when your whole team should sit facing the same direction in most western offices we know that isn’t going to happen. Truthfully in a creative, dynamic work place it’s not necessarily a good idea because it doesn’t support the individual gifts of the team members.
Still, the position of a desk makes a statement and in a smooth-working organization everyone needs to know their position because physical placement is a reflection of social status. Depending on the hierarchy be careful about which desks face the front of the building or department, because it symbolizes that they are your representatives to the outside world. They affect your organization’s place in that world.
On the sailing ships that once navigated the world using sextants and stars to guide them the captain commanded the ship, but the navigator or pilot guided its path. In organizations some people focus on the inner workings while others do the external navigation. And some people are below decks pumping out the bilge.
As the boss you decide where the desks are placed. Beware of junior executives moving their desks to dominant positions. There is nothing wrong with ambition, but they need to remember who the boss is and that they are being paid to ‘follow that leader’.
For Meeting Planners: To contact us about a speaking date please use this form. We are based in the San Francisco Bay Area and do most of our speaking in those areas. Additional speeches as part of the same event, including those on different subjects or languages, are discounted 20%. Materials for one hundred participants are included, additional are provided on a pro-rated basis. Space and Time Designing Inc. accepts all major credit cards.
The San Francisco Bay area is exempted from travel expenses unless it involves multiple, consecutive days. Contact Lahni de Amicis for a precise quote at 707-235-2648.
For meeting planners coming to the San Francisco area, especially to the North Bay, Napa and Sonoma, our sites are a great resource for deciding where to bring your group. We like meeting planners to think of the team at Amicis Seminars and Amicis Tours as their friends in the Bay area.
Contact us at 707-235-2648 when you need guidance in planning your trip and finding speakers for your events. You can email us at lahni@spaceandtime.com
Amicis Seminars & Amicis Tours are members of the San Francisco Travel Association.
Space and Time Designing Inc. Call 707-235-2648 Pacific Time, Amicis Creative Seminars Home Dream DeskCatalogContact
