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Have Employees Help Resolve Problems

If you have been following the advice in this book up until now, you have discovered that leaders who delegate well work collaboratively with their employees, empowering them and maintaining a dialogue throughout the process.

So what better partner to have in a dialogue than someone who is closest to the work, and the problems that go with it? After all, your employees are on the front line. They can see what is coming at them and can often see why or how.

Tap into this expertise, by all means! Don’t let where someone sits in the organizational chart prevent you from seeking their input.

When setting expectations for the delegated task, make it clear that you want your employee to bring solutions to the table, and that you value her input on how the problems should be addressed.

One leader in a Midwest pharmaceutical company has a banner outside her door that says: “Got solution?” She expects that employees who bring a problem to her have some options in hand to resolve it. She may not always agree with their suggestions, but their opinions lead every conversation about resolving problems.