Let your employees find the best solution
Last year, I was in an interview with a supervisor and we spoke about empowerment of the team and personnel development. When asking him about delegation, one of his statements was:
"Whenever one of my directs shows up and raises a problem, I would ask them what their proposal or solution is. I would send them back, if they only presented the problem without doing the thinking themselves. By this, my employees learn to think in solutions and come up with ideas on their own instead of letting me solve their problems."
This approach made me reflect on delegation, solution orientation, and how to best empower teams.
Back then I did not fully support his perspective. I remembered situations in which individuals felt overwhelmed and needed to be heard and supported instead of being sent back. However, I generally liked this mindset of letting people come up with solutions themselves and helping them grow.
Leading people by asking questions is very important.
As leaders we are quick in handling situations in our preferred way, in giving answers, in knowing it best.
And while this leadership style might help us to be efficient in the short run, we overlook the unused potential of our team members in the long run.
By asking questions, we give people the possibility to come up with a solution that matches their personality and work style.
Another benefit is that employees will feel pride and a stronger connection to their work. If they experience the power of creating and deciding on their own instead of doing what others told them to do. Moving from a passive to a proactive work style.
Moreover, we will be surprised by ideas and different ways of thinking that we don’t come up with on our own.
The following questions can help leaders to approach their team members with a growth mindset:
1. What is YOUR proposal to deal with the challenge?
When asking this question, our team members will feel heard and involved. They get the opportunity to contribute to the solution. At the same time, we will hear their perspectives.
2. What kind of options do we have?
By this, we will communicate that there is more than one solution. It broadens our horizons to not limit ourselves to the first solution that comes to our mind. We stop thinking only about what we have been doing in the past. We are forced into other perspectives. The focus will be on the best instead of the first solution.
3. What have you tried already?
This is a powerful question to check whether our team members have done some thinking themselves or whether they run to us as soon as a problem arises. Moreover, we will be able to better understand their work style.
4. What would your ideal result look like?
By going into a vision and future orientation, our employees will need to imagine what it could be like. This enables creative thinking and their focus will move from problem to solution orientation. At the same time, we will be able to check whether the two of us are aligned on the preferred direction or result.
5. What did we miss?
Again, by asking this question, the picture will become bigger instead of focusing on one aspect or problem of a situation. It enforces holistic thinking and reduces one-sided conclusions. The quality of the solution will increase.
These are just some examples and you might come up with different questions which match your leadership style and environment. Feel free to share your experiences and preferred questions by leaving a comment.
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