NO WARNING

I’VE GOT A LOT OF GOOD people working for me, but they’re too full of surprises. When they run into problems, I only find out after it’s too late. They always have a good excuse, so what should I do?”

The Danger Point

Leaders who are constantly being surprised allow it to happen. The first time an employee says, “Sorry, but I ran into a problem,” the leaders miss the point. They listen to the problem, work on it, and then move on to a new topic. In so doing, they are saying: “It’s okay to surprise me. If you have a legitimate excuse, stop what you’re doing, turn your efforts to something else, and then wait until I show up to spring the news.”

The Solution

Make it perfectly clear that once you’ve given an assignment, there are only two acceptable paths. Employees need to complete the assignment as planned, or if they run into a problem, they need to immediately inform you. No surprises. Similarly, if they decide that another job needs to be done instead, they call you. No surprises.

Clarify the “no surprises” rule. The first time someone comes back with a legitimate excuse—but he or she didn’t tell you when the problem first came up—deal with this as the new problem. “We agreed that you’d let me know immediately. I didn’t get a call. What happened?”