Solutions

Many managers struggle with staff coming to them with problems expecting the manager to always have the solutions. Often, the managers are too far removed from day-to-day process to weigh in on such problems. What is missing here is not expertise by staff necessarily, but the willingness of staff to proactively come forward with potential solutions.

I acknowledge that it can be incredibly intimidating for an employee to step forward in the middle of a problem or crisis. As a manager, to create an environment where our employees will step up, we need to be mindful of what lessons we are teaching in these critical moments. As leaders, we have an opportunity to build up our staff competence and resiliency in the middle of problem solving or a crisis.

Creating that environment is more than the manager’s declaration to “bring solutions, not problems” as the new department motto. The manager needs to create an environment where they are willing to sit down with staff to listen and provide context when needed. The biggest and most expensive knowledge gap of an employee comes from not having information or perspective on larger enterprise goals, function, or corporate direction. Often, there is unintended negative impact to the business when there is key information missing.

My best example of how leaders build proactive and competent staff is from my own humble beginnings. My mentor was a 20+ year veteran in the industry. He had great business acumen and as a person was a very intimidating figurehead. One day I came to him with an identified problem and potential solution. I was new to the company and the industry so when I made my presentation, I missed the mark. Instead of berating me or reassigning the project to someone more tenured, he made it a teaching moment and gave me better context to the problem at hand. He sat with me and took out a piece of paper. He talked me through the problem and provided me with added information that gave me better context and some potential solutions. In that moment, he chose to invest in me. He gave me his time, his knowledge, and insights. I did not feel embarrassed, I felt respected. More importantly, I knew that I could go to him in the future as a trusted mentor.

I am grateful to have a leader who modeled what managerial support can look like. I often think of him when I mentor others.