One senior leadership coach says the manta is outdated and inherently flawed
“Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions.”
We’ve all heard that one before. While countless executives who echo this down the office halls might think it encourages employees to take the initiative with their work, Global CEO coach and Harvard Business Review contributor Sabina Nawaz said that this management approach is fraught with challenges.
According to Nawaz, the “bring me a solution” approach is crippling, intimidating most employees into keeping silent about problems when they come up.
And those who do speak up are often ill-equipped to do so. She cited Wharton professor Adam Grant in saying it creates “a culture of advocacy instead of inquiry”. Instead of considering options and tackling issues collaboratively, workers are locked into their way of problem-solving, lobbying for half-baked solutions.
So why do managers keep saying this?
“A key reason is because they want to avoid a culture of complaining,” Nawaz said. “But communicating about the potential pitfalls and roadblocks for an initiative is different from complaining.”
She explained that, when issues are communicated properly, it creates an environment where people feel safe to bring you bad news early, giving you precious lead time to avert a crisis.
In order for executives to avoid the pitfalls of jumping the gun, she suggested these three ways to solve problems more productively:
1. Make it safe
Don’t make the mistake of equating someone bringing up a problem with a lack of ownership, Nawaz said. By antagonizing the messenger, executives create a culture wherein people only report good news, or worse, cover up bad news.
By pausing, paraphrasing the concern, and asking questions about the problem, leaders encourage their teams to be more upfront with what’s really going on in the workplace.
2. Require problem statements instead of complaints
Nawaz cautioned, however, that in advocating for more open feedback channels, executives should be wary of welcoming complaints – absolute statements that absolve the speaker from any sort of accountability.
Rephrasing these concerns as problem statements solves that. According to Nawaz, these are objective facts that examine underlying factors and reveal everyone’s role in creating the problem. Instead of saying ‘He did it’, the speaker admits ‘He did this, because of this, and I did this too’.
“Because the presenters acknowledge their part in the problem, you know they’re open to being part of solution, not just blaming others,” she said.
3. Find the right person or team to solve the issue
Once the full scope of the problem is fleshed out, executives need to assess the capabilities of their team members to solve it. Oftentimes, those who put forward the issue are simply looking for permission to go ahead and address it themselves.
Other times, the best way forward is to thank them for bringing it up, and assign the concern to another individual or team to find a solution.
“Based on the situation, you can coach the individual to stretch their abilities and tackle the challenge; thank them for raising the issue and assign it to the appropriate people to resolve; or bring together several groups to address it,” Nawaz said.
Related stories:
We’ve all heard that one before. While countless executives who echo this down the office halls might think it encourages employees to take the initiative with their work, Global CEO coach and Harvard Business Review contributor Sabina Nawaz said that this management approach is fraught with challenges.
According to Nawaz, the “bring me a solution” approach is crippling, intimidating most employees into keeping silent about problems when they come up.
And those who do speak up are often ill-equipped to do so. She cited Wharton professor Adam Grant in saying it creates “a culture of advocacy instead of inquiry”. Instead of considering options and tackling issues collaboratively, workers are locked into their way of problem-solving, lobbying for half-baked solutions.
So why do managers keep saying this?
“A key reason is because they want to avoid a culture of complaining,” Nawaz said. “But communicating about the potential pitfalls and roadblocks for an initiative is different from complaining.”
She explained that, when issues are communicated properly, it creates an environment where people feel safe to bring you bad news early, giving you precious lead time to avert a crisis.
In order for executives to avoid the pitfalls of jumping the gun, she suggested these three ways to solve problems more productively:
1. Make it safe
Don’t make the mistake of equating someone bringing up a problem with a lack of ownership, Nawaz said. By antagonizing the messenger, executives create a culture wherein people only report good news, or worse, cover up bad news.
By pausing, paraphrasing the concern, and asking questions about the problem, leaders encourage their teams to be more upfront with what’s really going on in the workplace.
2. Require problem statements instead of complaints
Nawaz cautioned, however, that in advocating for more open feedback channels, executives should be wary of welcoming complaints – absolute statements that absolve the speaker from any sort of accountability.
Rephrasing these concerns as problem statements solves that. According to Nawaz, these are objective facts that examine underlying factors and reveal everyone’s role in creating the problem. Instead of saying ‘He did it’, the speaker admits ‘He did this, because of this, and I did this too’.
“Because the presenters acknowledge their part in the problem, you know they’re open to being part of solution, not just blaming others,” she said.
3. Find the right person or team to solve the issue
Once the full scope of the problem is fleshed out, executives need to assess the capabilities of their team members to solve it. Oftentimes, those who put forward the issue are simply looking for permission to go ahead and address it themselves.
Other times, the best way forward is to thank them for bringing it up, and assign the concern to another individual or team to find a solution.
“Based on the situation, you can coach the individual to stretch their abilities and tackle the challenge; thank them for raising the issue and assign it to the appropriate people to resolve; or bring together several groups to address it,” Nawaz said.
Related stories:
