If you’re a team leader you probably get questions like this from your team:
- “I’m stuck, what do I do now?”
- “I’ve got this problem, how do I solve it?”
- “Can you take a look at this for me?”
As an experienced problem-solver you probably have ideas and answers.
Don’t take the bait.
Don’t say “hmm, I’ll put this on my list and get back to you”.
Most of the time:
- You’re not the closest one to the situation.
- You don’t have time to dig into the details.
- It’s better for your team to learn how to solve it.
Instead, try responding with a question. Here are 3 strategies you can take:
- #1 – Help your team member to identify the trouble
- “what’s your biggest bottleneck?”
- “what seems to be the issue?”
- “where are you stuck?”
- “what needs to change?”
- #2 – Ask them to formulate a request (more specific than “I’m stuck, please help”)
- “what action do you need from me?”
- “if I weren’t here, what would you need to solve this yourself?”
- #3 – Help them brainstorm solutions
- “what are some of the assumptions you’re making? what if these are not true?”
- “if you only had 20% as much time as you do now, how would you go about this?”
- “if you could relax one constraint, which one would it be? what would it take to change that constraint?”
It’s important to use language that keeps your team members owning the problem.
If done properly, you’re not just helping them solve this problem. You’re helping your team develop the resourcefulness to resolve any issue when they’re stuck.
Later in September we will launch the first online course offered by The Questions Company titled ‘Essentials of Team Leadership’, designed for folks who are leading a team for the first time. This will include communication tactics like the one above, plus dozens more on topics like setting expectations, providing direction, handling requests, and giving feedback.
To learn more about how The Questions Company can help you and your team, please schedule a consultation.
