At The Fortune Group, we train managers how to fulfill their core purpose which is about creating a business that can literally function (and prosper) in their absence.
Central to making this work, practically and effectively, is ensuring that when employees are faced with a problem (of any description), we don’t allow them to simply ‘handball’ their problems up to us. Coach, guide and counsel them, but make sure you train them how to handle their own problems. Weak managers breed weak people! By strengthening people to solve their own job-related issues it allows us to remain focused on our business and job objectives… and it also provides employees an opportunity to grow. Sure, they may struggle, but that’s also how they learn!
Of course it’s easier said than done for managers to have their people deal with their own problems – some managers, wrongly, even see it as turning their back on employees in their time of need. Don’t succumb to this emotional immaturity.
There are a couple of significant roadblocks that contribute to this internal emotional dilemma that many managers face. First is an emotional need to be needed. Part of our natural (and healthy) makeup as human beings is to provide support for others, and in so many other parts of our lives, that’s exactly what’s expected. But when we get into management, it’s not always so easy to know where and when to draw the line.
The second emotional roadblock is a sense of guilt. When an employee comes to a manager in a supposed time of need and says, in effect, “Boss, we have a problem, what should we do about it?”, it can be a challenge for a manager to turn that issue back to the employee and ask them, “What are you going to do about it?” Because it’s highly likely you’ve dealt with pretty much the same problem before! So put your guilt aside, counsel and guide them, train and strengthen them, but make sure they are capable of solving most every day-to-day problem they encounter.
If you struggle with either of these roadblocks, it’s time to confront your inadequacies! Develop the emotional maturity that’s required of any competent manager because it’s the only way you’ll ever manage effectively. Anything less is a disservice to yourself, your team, the business and most of all, the customers your business seeks to serve.
