I love the look on people’s faces when they walk into a reception area and are trying to get some attention… only to find that they won’t be seen. It’s always an awkward moment for just about everyone involved. I also love when the situation turns into a wordy and often tedious “why the hell not?!” type of moment. The poor guy or gal breaking the news often is the target of animosity –that’s where my human side kicks in, and I feel bad.

99% of the time it’s really not the receptionists fault the person can’t be seen or meet with, there are always behind the scene factors; be-it more important engagements or prior-issues revolving around the person being turned away, there is often more to the story than readily evident. The gatekeeper is the business-communications term to describe this position, (in my example the receptionist is the gatekeeper,) they are the key to getting what you want. From the small-business secretary, to the Chief of Staff of CEO’s, and The White House, gatekeepers have tremendous power and often bear the brunt of executive decisions. (Sometimes for minimum wage –ouch!)

Those being turned away tend to feel its some personal vendetta. When this is going on inside workplaces it gets even more interesting, I’ve heard everything from “She hates me!” to “I slept with him weeks ago and he never called back!” and the ever popular “They want my promotion!” It happens all the time, and frankly, as entertaining it gets for outsiders like me; it really can destroy a workplace.

Trying to round up this post I’ll just draw on a few thoughts about the matter and how to avoid public drama.

From the supervisors point of view; if you are trying to avoid somebody, just suck-it-up and deal with the issue at hand. There is no sense in giving someone the run around and making everyone’s day that much worse. If they are a client, they deserve answers. If they are an employee, they deserve answers. If they are coworkers, they also deserve answers. Hiding from problems doesn’t make them go away.

As gatekeeper; try to do your job professionally and in a manner that won’t bring your integrity into question. Avoid words that don’t get to the point. Don’t bother with saying things like “You’ll been seen as soon as possible,” when you know that isn’t the case, and for most folks that just won’t cut it, you look like the jerk. Stick to answers that leave things open, or simply apologize and say you simple don’t know when they’ll be seen and offer to take down some contact info. There is also the option to push the higher-up into confronting what needs to be confronted. Be careful being pushy, as it can be tricky to pull off and not seem overshadowing

As the person being given the run-around; stay calm, avoid harsh words, and even words that don’t seem so harsh but just feed into more chaos. Give people a shot at making things work and don’t go around being the workplace drama queen airing out reasons why people must not like you. Simply chill-out.

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