How Do You Engage Employees to be Better Problems Solvers?

Have you ever been jealous of your boss’s clear and clean desk and wonder how they do it? Some people are just more mentally organized, while others are more physically organized. But there is also a connection between the types of problems people solve at different levels in the organization. The higher the position, sometimes the cleaner their desks. As you climb up the corporate ladder, the problems you solve usually take up less space on your desk, but become more numerous and complex as well as mental capacity. Before you were promoted, no one told you that the problems at the next level would be far more challenging than the ones you had already solved.

Some days, dealing with a myriad of ongoing problems can be overwhelming. If this is the case, I have two thoughts for you. First, if employees keep bringing problems for you to solve, look at it as job security. Second, think about delegating more responsibility to your employees so they can help you proactively address the root cause of the problems.

We know from our own benchmarks that the Best of the Best organizations typically score 10 points higher when it comes to empowering their employees to make decisions and solve problems. Clearly, the Best-of-the-Best organizations recognize that they can’t be successful in today’s competitive business world without creating an environment that encourages employees to not just do their jobs, but also think and take the next step. It is also important to know that employees who feel they have the autonomy in their job and feel included in the decision-making process, are more likely to support decisions made, as well as have higher levels of engagement.

While you need thinkers on your team, you can’t mandate more initiative or engagement, especially if you’ve traditionally been the problem solver. Initiative and engagement, like motivation, are not something you do to others. People have to engage themselves. While it may not be possible to empower every team member, there certainly are things that can be done to create a work environment where people have the confidence to begin to take initiative beyond their job description and, over time, confidently display discretionary thought and action, contributing to the success of the team and organization.

Here are our recommendations for developing an environment where employees are engaged to take the initiative and solve problems.

Avoid using the term ‘empowerment and engagement.’ The worst approach you could take to encourage more initiative, creativity and risk-taking is to say, “I need empowered/engage people on my team. From this point on, you are all empowered.” Moving quickly to an empowered environment can be scary for team members who suddenly realize that you expect them to shoulder more responsibility, particularly if they have been shot down in the past for suggesting ideas or sharing opinions.
Thank people for bringing you problems. When people come to you with problems, positively respond with, “I appreciate you bringing that to my attention.”
Get in the habit of asking questions. When people bring you problems, discipline yourself to not respond with a solution, but ask questions like:
- What do you think we should do to address this problem?
- What has worked in the past to resolve this?
- Have you ever experienced this in other places you’ve worked? How was it fixed there?
- Why do you think this continues to be a reoccurring problem?
- If you were me, what would you do?
Give away power. Your role is to give your team members the resources and tools they need to make good decisions on their own. Over time, those leaders that give away the most power, end up with more power, not less, as they have earned the trust of their people who are willing follow them.
Define the boundaries. Creating an environment that encourages initiative, engagement and responsibility doesn’t mean that there are no rules or boundaries. Be clear, from the outset, about how much authority a team member has; how far they can go without including you in the decision making process; the dollar limit of their decision making; which policies might be overlooked; and which policies will not be subject to individual interpretation.
Accept mistakes. If your team isn’t occasionally making mistakes, there is a good chance that they are not pushing themselves to achieve their full potential. When mistakes occur, routinely respond first with, “What do you think we should do to fix this?” and then, when the problem is resolved, ask, “What did we learn from this?” followed by, “What would you do differently next time?
Be a coach and mentor. In order to gain discretionary effort from your team members, they need to know that you care about them personally and professionally. Make it a priority to regularly meet, one-on-one with your employees. Ask them to talk about: What is going well for them, what they think their growth opportunities are, and how you can support them in achieving their goals. Clarify your expectations and give them feedback on their performance.
Value your people and recognize success. If this is going to work, people need to know that you value their contributions. On a daily basis, look for opportunities to genuinely recognize and praise team members who are going beyond the minimum expectations for their job – people who are thinking, taking calculated risks, and pushing boundaries to make improvements.

It’s tough and often scary to give away your power to your employees in order for them to take on more and more of your responsibilities. However, over time, the benefits outweigh the challenges, resulting in:

- Better decision making
- Creative solutions to challenging problems
- Higher levels of engagement
- Higher levels of employee morale and job satisfaction
- Employee retention and loyalty
- Happier customers

And… best of all, less stress for you. As you create an empowering environment, your desk will clear up and you will be able to focus on higher level leadership activities.