Problem solving can take up a lot of time. So it makes sense for you to resolve problems before they develop, let alone grow to impact the bottom line. I’ve come to call this preventive management. As you walk through your workplace, you should be looking for recurring problems—gaps between what should be and what is. Rather than ignore them, you need to stop and talk to those nearby to determine if the situation is chronic. If it is, you may have a problem in its early stages, and you may want to identify its cause now rather than wait until it becomes more serious, impacting production or job performance.
Let’s assume that one of your employees comes to you with a problem. Let’s further assume that this problem is relatively small. You could take over and solve it, but this may be an opportunity, instead, to teach your employees to bring solutions to you instead of only problems. Your employees may not do this because they think it is your call. So you have to learn to pull back intentionally and en- courage your workers to think through a problem and come up with answers. Getting employees who have never demonstrated initiative to do so can take several steps.
When an employee first brings a problem to you, you might come up with the solution. The next time she brings the same problem or a related one, you might ask for a suggestion. If she has none, you might remind her of what was done before and ask if that suggests something. Next time the person comes to you, you might suggest she go back and think about the problem and bring at least one solution to you. In coaching your employees in problem solving, encourage them to go beyond one or two tries at a solution. Allowing them to give up too soon will only encourage them to hand the problem over to you instead of trying another solution. (For more about coaching employees.)
Not every problem is within an employee’s ability to address. On occasion, you may even have to bring together your entire staff to work on a problem or, where the problem impacts the entire organization, representatives from different parts of the organization.