Editorial
Welcome to Courage Coach, where expert columnist Karin Hurt answers readers' tough leadership challenges with practical tools and techniques you can use right away. Have a question for her? Drop her a line!
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Dear Courage Coach,
I want to be a supportive manager, but there are a few people on my team who come to me for every little thing. They’ve been trained. They SHOULD know what to do, and quite honestly, a lot of what they’re coming to me with is not rocket science.
I’m not sure if they lack creativity, confidence or if they’re just lazy. My plate is already overflowing. I really don’t have time to do my job and their jobs too.
How do I stop them from being so needy? How do I get them to solve more problems on their own?
Signed,
Exhausted Problem Solver,
Dear EPS,
Yeah, you don’t have time for this classic conundrum. The more you solve problems for your team, the more they’ll come to you — and expect you to solve new problems the next time. That’s exhausting and unsustainable for you, and you’re not serving them or their development.
There is a proven approach, which we call our Let’s Grow Leaders “9 What’s” Coaching Method. When a team member comes to you for help (assuming they’ve been trained and this is a problem they should be able to solve on their own), rather than jumping in with the answer, you have an opportunity to develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
The following nine questions will help you to free up your own time and increase your team’s ability to think and problem-solve on their own.
The “9 What’s” Coaching Method to Develop Critical Thinking Skills and Delegate Problem Solving
Start With CLARITY
1. What is your goal?
Start here to check for understanding and ensure that the team member has a good grasp on defining the problem.
Then encourage reflection and gather facts.
2. What have you tried?
This question ensures you don’t spend time covering the ground they’ve already explored to solve the problem. It also requires your team members to make some effort before requesting help.
3. What happened?
Finish gathering facts by asking them to talk about the consequences of the solutions they’ve already tried. Sometimes just the act of talking about it will help them figure out a new solution.
4. What did you learn from this?
With this question, you ask them to reflect on their experience. Often, the act of examining what happened and what learning they can draw from it will spark a new approach to solving the problem.
Invite ANALYSIS
5. What else do you need?
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This is a check in to see if there is additional training or equipment they need. Sometimes your team member will say something like: “You know, if I knew how to use pivot tables, I think I could do this.” Great – connect them to a spreadsheet guru for a quick lesson and get them moving.
6. What else can you do?
Now it’s time to have them generate some new options. When you ask this question, one of two answers usually happens. Your team member might say, “I don’t know” or they might offer some options, eg: “Well, I was thinking I could try option A or I could try option B.”
If they say, “I don’t know,” we’ll come back to that with question #9. Let’s assume for now that they offer some options.
7. What do you think will happen if you try option A? What about option B?
You’re asking your team member to explore the potential consequences of their proposed solution. This gives you insight into their thinking and helps them think through what makes their choices viable or desirable.
If they are missing a critical piece of information, you can supply it here without telling them what to do. For example: “One additional factor you will want to know is that the customer considers that a vital feature.”
Courage Coach: 7 Ways to Help Your Boss Make a Decision
Move to COMMITMENT
8. What will you do?
This is the critical step that you’ve been leading up to. As you help them review the facts, reflect on what they learned, explore alternatives and the consequences of each choice, the goal is for your team member to choose their solution.
When they choose it, they own it. If they choose something that seems to be a clearly inferior option, you can ask them to help you understand why they think that’s their best option. If they don’t understand some of the other issues affecting the decision, you can also add those to the mix.
The Super Bonus Question to Help Your Team Solve Problems
9. Super-Bonus Question
If someone says, “I don’t know,” introduce the super-bonus question: "What might you do if you did know?" This question works effectively by shifting the focus from needing immediate answers to exploring potential solutions without the pressure of correctness. It encourages brainstorming and reengages your team member by reducing the emotional and mental burden associated with definitive responses.
This approach not only fosters solution-oriented thinking but also trains your team members to handle challenges independently. Success is evident when a team member manages to resolve issues on their own using the problem-solving skills you've helped them develop.
Celebrate Success
You’ll know you’re succeeding when a team member tells you: “I had a problem. I was going to come and talk it over with you, but then I thought, you’re just going to ask me all these questions. So, I asked myself all the questions instead and I figured it out.”
Celebrate those moments and encourage them to start asking those questions of the people around them. You’ve just increased your team’s capacity for problem-solving, freed up time to focus on your work, and…you’ve encouraged courage.
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