It’s important to instill in your team members a sense of persistence and ability to solve problems. Instead of bringing questions and uncertainty, they need to find solutions to the hurdles the company faces. Many managers don’t spend enough time training employees to become better problem-solvers. Or they unconsciously impede their employees’ natural ability to solve problems. Here are some tips to encourage your team members to become more solution-oriented.
Are You a “Diminisher Manager”?
A “diminisher manager” is someone who needs to be the most intelligent person in the room. Whether they know it or not, they tend to shut others down to lift themselves up. Your team will not become solution-oriented if you constantly undermine them and make them feel incompetent and unimportant. You have to learn to get out of your own way. Instead, you want to use your intelligence to bring out the intelligence of the people on your team.
Foster an Environment of Self-Sufficiency
Tell your employees that they shouldn’t come to you with a problem until they have tried a few things to solve the problem on their own. You want your employees to be self-sufficient. It’ll be very unproductive if they run to you every time they have a problem. This is especially true when they have problems that they can easily solve on their own. Even saying something funny like “let me Google that for you” can remind employees to be more self-sufficient.
Provide Them with Tools and Resources
You want to encourage your team to be proactive problem solvers. They need to use the tools they have to find solutions. But, first, they need to have ample tools and resources. This will help them feel more empowered. When they bring you a problem, ask them “What have you done so far to figure it out?” and “What do you think is a good solution?” This will help them to start approaching problems from a solution-oriented standpoint.
Hire the Best
While there are certainly measures you can take to train talent to become more solution-oriented, hiring people well-suited for problem-solving is also important. You want to hire people who are creative thinkers and people who know how to take initiative. If someone isn’t creative or assertive, there is only so much that you can do to help them develop these skills. That’s why it is better to hire people who already have these skills. They will be easier to train and integrate into your self-sufficient culture.
Ultimately, you want a team who sees a problem and immediately starts to think about potential solutions. Your employees can’t rely on other people to solve problems for them. It’s inefficient. They need to be able to solve problems for themselves. These tips will help you develop a solution-oriented team.
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