Clever management phrases
When I was a graduate trainee I had a manager who loved to say:
“Do not come to me with problems, come with solutions”
He believed it was a clever and motivational sort of thing to say. It would make me more creative, I would start to think ahead and develop my own solutions, and — most importantly — I wouldn’t burden him with my problems.
He was right… In part…
Why do your staff bring you their problems?
I’d hazard a guess it is because they don’t know what the solutions are.
If you don’t value their problems what will happen?
If they don’t know the answers and you only want to hear the solutions, then I suspect your staff will soon stop telling you about the problems.
This will, in turn, lead to one of two outcomes:
- Either all your problems will magically disappear
- Or they will get swept under the carpet
How can you solve a problem you don’t know about?
Having no problems is the biggest problem of all ~ Taiichi Ohno
If you can’t admit you have problems
If it is politically incorrect, a sign of weakness or an admission of failure then you could start calling your problems opportunities, everybody loves an opportunity.
P.S. If your staff didn’t have problems would they really need a manager?
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Image by Grammaticus Bramlington
James,
I don’t mind the saying so much… what I mind more is when people become lazy and stop thinking for themselves.
Annette :-)
Funny how words affect actions
Hello James,
Here is what Colin Powell says (it is one of his key rules of leadership):
“The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”
I find myself to be in total agreement.
On more than one occasion I have found myself to be in leadership position as in responsible for leading folks in order to generate a desired outcome. This has been and continues to be direction to them:
1. Think about what challenge-issue-hurdle-obstacle your are up against;
2. Jot (write) down what is stopping you from moving forward (information, expertise-skill, resources, fear..);
3. Jot (write down) any ideas you have on how to deal with the challenge or simply what you think the next step/s are’
4. Come and see me anytime you need me after you have completed step 2. If you have also done step 3 then all the better;
5. You will never be blamed-criticised-punished or lose face-status if you do come and see me; and
6. Do not expect mercy if you find yourself facing a challenge, and then chose not to do steps 2 and 4.
All I can say is that these rules of working together with folks in the same mission as me have served me (and the folks I have found myself leading) well.
Great set of instructions Maz, I feel a post coming on
Hi James,
A while ago I spoke with a gentleman called Peter Hunter (http://www.adrianswinscoe.com/employee-engagement-is-like-rolling-a-snowball-uphill-interview-with-peter-a-hunter/) and he liked to say that he felt that his role was to remove obstacles that were preventing his team from doing their job better. I wonder how this problem/solution approach chimes with that?
Adrian
It was a good interview Adrian, so good infact I bought (and read) his book