{"id":3523,"date":"2019-03-06T16:29:42","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T00:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/knowyourteam.com\/blog\/?p=3523"},"modified":"2024-07-12T11:05:06","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T18:05:06","slug":"dont-solve-problems-if-you-want-to-be-a-great-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canopy.is\/blog\/2019\/03\/06\/dont-solve-problems-if-you-want-to-be-a-great-manager\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t solve problems if you want to be a great manager."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What makes a great manager isn’t the problems they solve, but the questions they ask. Start with these 16 questions here.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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An employee comes to you and says, \u201cI have a problem.\u201d If you\u2019re trying to be a great manager, what do you do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your initial instinct might be to roll up your sleeves. \u201cTime to be the boss,\u201d you think to yourself. You\u2019re ready to step in, solve the problem and save the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or something like that. You just want to be helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, your instinct is the opposite<\/em> of helpful. Startlingly, when you jump in to solve a problem as a manager, it\u2019s one of the biggest leadership mistakes you can make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was reminded of this counterintuitive concept when chatting<\/a> with Wade Foster<\/a>, CEO of Zapier, on our podcast<\/a> at Canopy<\/a>. Though his company today is thriving with over 200 employees and over 2 million users, Wade admitted how he struggled in the early days as a CEO when an employee would come to him with a problem:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhen you [jump in and try to solve the problem yourself] you\u2019re actually mistaking your roles. You\u2019ve hired this person to solve problems. And if they\u2019re unable to solve the problem, you\u2019ve probably hired the wrong person.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In other words, your role<\/a> as a manager is not to solve problems. It\u2019s to help others<\/em> solve problems, themselves. Leadership is stewardship. It\u2019s navigating your team through treacherous waters, around jagged rocks, to the desired destination, and making sure folks feel nourished and rested along the way. But you can\u2019t be a good steward if you\u2019re scampering around trying to paddle all the oars faster, yourself. To take the boat analogy one step further, a great manager is a coxswain, not a rower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This confusion of roles leads to a highly undesired outcome: You prevent your team from learning how to solve the problem. A dangerous reliance develops that hinges on your expertise, your \u201cfinal word.\u201d Your team never gets to fuss, flail, and figure out how to crack a nut with their own hands. When you\u2019re the one thinking through all the problems, you\u2019re teaching your team members to not think for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You also inadvertently slow your team down. Every problem\u200a\u2014\u200aespecially the \u201chard ones\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200aare re-routed to you. So what happens if you\u2019re out of the office that week? Or, what if your plate is full? Well, that problem will just have to wait. And wait it does. You become a bottleneck, the inhibitor of your team. You funnel your team into a single mode of dependency that\u2019s difficult to undo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best leaders know this and are keen to avoid this pitfall\u200a\u2014\u200aso they do something else. They become the team\u2019s accelerator. They help team members think for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How? By asking questions. Wade of Zapier adopted this practice as a CEO, describing it as a \u201cmore Socratic way\u201d to helping his team solve problems. Ultimately, it leads to better results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask questions and a team member can come to the answer themselves. Ask questions and the problem they\u2019re facing becomes more lucid, less daunting. Ask questions and your team member might even come up with a better answer than you would have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\nLooking for more detailed guidance on one-on-one meetings?<\/strong>\nMake sure to check out our 1:1 module in Canopy.\n<\/div>\n
\nLearn more<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

To be a great manager, here are 16 questions during a one-on-one meeting you can start with instead of jumping in to solve the problem yourself<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n