Get them to solve their own problems

Yes, as a manager, your door is always open to your employees. But you shouldn’t tolerate a steady parade of workers into your office looking for answers to every little problem.

Here are some guidelines to get staff to find solutions to some of their everyday difficulties:

• Encourage them to try their own solution. You can listen to their ideas about how to deal with a situation but then let them try one out. But as a rule of thumb, give employees as much problem-solving leeway as you can. The pride they feel in solving problems on their own will encourage them to keep figuring things out independently.

• Don’t be so hard on them if they make mistakes. A person will be more willing to test a solution if she knows that she won’t be unduly criticized for a result that really didn’t pan out well.

One really effective way to build confidence is to admit when you yourself made a mistake. Mentioning your error, what you’ve learned and how you plan to fix it will give your people an excellent model to follow.

• Offer good ideas when you can. And gently explain when other tactics are not currently practical. The openness you show to new ideas and your willingness to experiment will go a long way in encouraging employees to get involved in solving problems.

• Reward successful problem-solving. Take time in a meeting or conversation to describe the fix the department would be in if it were not for the employee’s resourcefulness. Then thank the employee.