In my last blog post, I asked why so many of us have the tendency to “solve” our employees’ issues rather than coaching our employees to resolve the problems themselves. It prompted this related question: when your employee comes to you with a problem, do you tell or do you ask? Let me explain further.
Let’s say one of your employees is having trouble reconciling a client’s account. Do you tell him how to fix it, or do you ask him what he has already tried?
Or you’ve gathered your team for a meeting on several recent safety incidents on the shop floor. Do you tell them what they need to do from now on, or do you ask them why they think the frequency of accidents has gone up?
I think you get the idea! So, be honest, what percentage of the time do you tell and what percentage do you ask? Perhaps it might be worth “auditing” yourself for a week. Please share your results with the rest of us!