Employees seek help from senior managers with a variety of issues. But a common issue is that the employee is having problems with their supervisor or manager. The senior manager who seeks to solve this problem, without enabling the manager or supervisor in question to solve the problem first, creates a dysfunctional organization.
When an employee wants to talk about a variety of issues, such as the company, the markets, employee needs and wants, the senior manager must listen. This provides substance to the open door policy. But, if the employee is complaining about their supervisor, the manager must ask if the employee has addressed the issue with their supervisor.