“Don’t bring me problems”

Do you tell team members “Don’t bring me problems … bring me solutions”? Beware … this can create even more problems.

Here’s why …

It’s good to encourage team members to think about how to solve a problem rather than just, in effect, complaining about it to you. Team members who can deal with some problems on their own – and also improve their work – are critical for any business striving to deal with uncertainty and market turmoil.

There are downsides to requiring only solutions, however:

• If team members don’t have good capabilities to identify and think constructively about solutions, then they may come up with poor solutions or solutions that will make the problem worse. They may also hesitate to come forward at all, leaving problems to fester and even worsen.
• If the culture is “admitting you cannot do something = failure” then it is unlikely anyone will come forward with problems or seek help from others. Who wants to be seen as a failure?
• The solutions may only address symptoms and not root causes; therefore, problems are almost guaranteed to surface again. Are you just looking for something to approve or disapprove? If so, and time isn’t invested in verifying the root cause is addressed, then you are missing an opportunity for improving skills of others AND adding more trouble in the future.
• You can be seen as focused on making your own time efficient and not interested in developing your team. The rule to only bring solutions will remove you from helping people develop good, or better, solutions and share your experiences. On top of that, “development plans” will appear meaningless, a waste of time, and a façade in the face of actual day-to-day practice.
  

All the above can increase cynicism and a “why bother” mindset … the opposite of a proactive, agile mindset needed to face business challenges.

How are you perceived as a leader regarding problems and solutions?

Are you unintentionally fostering an environment that creates negative perceptions like those above? Do you provide a good example? Or do you think asking for inputs from others or seeking help = failure?

In addition to self-examination, seek feedback from others to get a more accurate view of the picture of you that you “paint.”

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