Pass Problems Down And Solutions Up

by Bill Granda

Since 1991, as consultant, business coach, and advisor with Paradigm Associates, Bill Granda has been helping businesses and individuals improve their ability to overcome obstacles and get results. He engages with key players and teams, particularly those in or approaching important transitions, to develop and execute practical business and transition strategies. Clients have found him especially helpful when they recognize they have to do something different, but don't know exactly what that is, or they know what is needed but aren't sure how to best get it done. Many of his clients are closely-held and family businesses, non-profits, and professional firm owners who put a premium on professional competence and really helping their clients.

Given that we'd be outraged by a physician who killed more patients than she helped or a detective who committed more murders than he solved, writes Gary Hamel recently in his Wall Street Journal blog, why are we complacent when confronted with data that suggest most managers are more likely to douse the flames of employee enthusiasm than fan them, and are more likely to frustrate extraordinary accomplishment than to foster it? Hamel cites the Global Workforce SurveyGlobal Workforce Survey done by Towers Perrin that discovered:

• Only 21% of employees are truly engaged in their work, that theyd go the extra mile for their employer;
• 38% are mostly or entirely disengaged;
• The remaining 41% are luke warm, in the middle.

Hamel continues, in a world where customers wake up every morning asking, "what's new, what's different and what's amazing?" success depends on a company's ability to unleash the initiative, imagination and passion of employees at all levels and this can only happen if all those folks are connected heart and soul with their work, their company and its mission. And he concludes (1) that the keys to such engagement are all management issues and (2) that such engagement is essential to the competitiveness of every company and every economy. We couldn't agree more. In fact, I'm convinced having a highly engaged staff, while not making the recession go away, will most certainly make it easier to do better than most in the midst of recession.

How can you engage your employees in their work and the success of your company? Here are two powerful ways: (1) get rid of inner circles, and (2) pass problems down and solutions up.

Most organizations have inner circles, where the people inside the circle know what is going on and the people outside the circle wish they knew. Can you imagine a football team with an inner circle? The quarterback, running backs, and receivers gather in a tight huddle and call the next play. Meanwhile the linemen stand around waiting to find out what they're supposed to do next. Maybe someone tells them what the play is. More likely in this scenario each would just be told, 'You block this guy and you block that guy'. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it. But can you tell me the difference between that football scenario and what goes on in many organizations daily?

Think of the ways, sometimes subtle, that inner circles manifest themselves. When you talk about how you value your employees, are your employees us or them? Or are you all equally important members of the same team? Do you assume a difference in what motivates your managers vs. what motivates your employees? Do you expect different levels of commitment from your managers than from your employees? And what about solving problems? Is that the domain of managers? Which brings us to the second way to bolster engagement at all levels.

Pass problems down and solutions up. Usually its the other way around, isn't it? When I was a Boy Scout leader, we had a mantra at camp. Unless it was an emergency, if a Scout asked an adult for help, the adult replied, "Do I look like your Patrol Leader?" Immediately the boy knew to go solve the problem among the boys. By the way, it was also a very effective training tool to keep adults from butting in when boys should have been solving the problem. Did it work? Consider this: new parents coming on weekend camping trips for the first time were always amazed at how the boys set up camp without adult prodding or supervision.

How often do you think you need to solve problems for your employees? Could you imagine Joe Torre running out of the dugout to spear the ball because he wasn't sure his third baseman could handle the hot grounder? How easy it is to get suckered in when someone asks you for help.

Instead of telling people how to do something, why not ask them, 'What do you think? How do you think we should do it?' Those simple questions have a powerful effect. Isn't the job of a manager to enable people to perform better today than they did yesterday and even better tomorrow? Doesn't solving their problems or giving them the answers rob employees of the chance to think and learn?

When you skip this because you're too rushed or the task is too urgent, you rob people of the opportunity to learn and grow and yourself of the opportunity to delegate and get stuff off your plate. It doesn't take too many instances of managers stepping in or coming to the rescue before people abdicate ownership of their jobs. Even people who try to take ownership and initiative will back down after too many instances of guessing wrong on how their manager wants something done.

This is one VERY good reason for a business to take the time to develop a clear vision and goals and communicate same to everyone in the business so people know what you're thinking and can take immediate decisions and action rather than sending it up the line and waiting for an answer on what to do.