The manager’s role

There is a general expectation from most staff that managers and supervisors are there to solve problems. If things go wrong, it is the manager’s job to fix it. As long as this continues, staff will bring their problems to their boss for a solution to be dispensed.

To help your staff focus on solutions rather than problems, there is a very simple formula whenever someone brings you a problem to solve – ask them how they think it should be solved. At first you may get a completely blank look, or even a response along the lines of, ‘You’re in charge, it’s your job to sort it out.’ This can always be countered with the suggestion that, as they are the person working with these issues every day, their opinion on a viable solution is valuable.

It may be quite hard to get a sensible answer the first time you try this technique, but if you persist, people will start to learn that you expect them to bring you possible solutions along with problems.

This encourages staff to think about their jobs and look at the best possible way to get their jobs done. It also starts to develop an attitude of ownership of the job, the processes and the outcomes.