Never Bring a Problem to Your Boss Without Also Bringing a Solution
This post’s word of advice comes from R. Dixon Thayer, an executive advisor to Bryan Park Capital in New York and CEO of ab3 Resources, a strategic consulting and investment firm based in Unionville, Pennsylvania. It’s one of his Rules for Boss Engagement. (BTW, I’ll be sharing more gems from Thayer in future posts… stay tuned!)
This particular rule is easy to understand if you take the boss’s perspective.
Think Like a Boss
A very famous boss – Napoleon Bonaparte – once confronted his staff of Generals with this straightforward charge: Don’t bring me problems. I have enough problems of my own! Bring me SOLUTIONS!!!!”
It’s a variation of the adage, “Your number one job is to make your boss look good.” Granted, that may sound a bit boss-centered in this current era of teams, but it’s always a good thing for YOU when you help your boss succeed—it’s a win/win thing… good for your boss AND good for YOU.
It’s all about bringing benefit and value to your team, your boss, and your organization. A lot of people in the workplace have a very different view. They push problem-solving UP the ladder. Their philosophy is “It’s the boss’s job to solve problems around here… not mine. I don’t get paid to do that.” In the current economy, that’s the kind of thinking that will get a worker weeded out during the next down-sizing.
I recommend that you do better than that.
Show the Boss What You’re Made Of!
I suggest that you take some initiative; do some hard thinking; go the extra mile; and make your boss’s life a little easier–bring a solution along with the problem. Nine times out of ten your boss is likely to invoke the Jean-Luc Piccard response and tell you: MAKE IT SO.
Even better…bring THREE SOLUTIONS… that way, your Boss has choices, and doesn’t feel backed into a corner.
3 Is Better Than 1
One of my hard-working, intelligent executive coaching clients was becoming increasingly discouraged and stressed out by the unrealistic workload his team was asked to service. He came to me with a common coaching question: What can I do????
We brainstormed three possible solutions for his boss to choose from:
- Add head count to the team by hiring an additional full-time employee
- Pay for a temp for the team—to take on some of the load
- Off-load some of the work to another team (with suggestions about what part of the work to off-load and which team would be best positioned to take it on).
His boss didn’t like having to add to the budget (most bosses don’t like that either!) so he gave my client permission to give some of the work to another team. PROBLEM SOLVED!
What About YOU, Boss????
When YOU are the boss, don’t let your team members off the hook when they bring problems to YOU. Challenge them to take some initiative and recommend a solution. You can always be the safety net and apply good judgment to their ideas and weed out any impractical or unworkable suggestions they bring to you. But there’s always a chance they will come up with a real gem, and save you lots of time and hassle as a result. They will also be a lot more committed to making the solution a success because it was THEIR idea. Good for them. Good for YOU. Good for THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION!
See You Next Post
If you want more great advice from successful CEO’s, stay tuned for future posts.
Until next time—Yours for better leaders… and better organizations,
Dr. Jim Dyke – The “Boss Doctor”TM – Helping you to BE a better boss, and to HAVE a better boss!
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