top of page

Don't be the problem guy

Aktualisiert: 10. Sept. 2019

When confronted with obstacles a lot of us feel the urge to immediately share the information with our team and especially with the team lead. This reflex is generally not a bad thing since rising attention for an issue is important. But in addition to simply sharing a problem with your colleagues I encourage you to add a personal note. Add value by offering solution options or at least your opinion on it.


Imagine you find a rotten apple and do not know what to do with it:


  • You can now go to your manager put it on her desk and say “I found this rotten apple and since i do not know what to do with it, i will leave it here - oh and by the way: it smells really bad since it is very rotten!”. How do you think that will make your manager feel?

  • The other way of dealing with it would be: “I found a rotten apple. We have two options now: I can either toss it away or we can wait and hope that an apple tree grows out of it. I recommend the first option. So, is it ok if i toss it now or do you need some time to consider the options?”.

Do not confront your manager with issues if you have not tried to think it through yourself. Your manager does not know all the answers (as described above) - and she does not have to have them. We sometimes tend to be a little lazy and just ask our manager “what do we do next?” or “what should I do now?”. Especially as a young professional you might do this because you feel like you need your superiors’ approval for everything you do. If you face a problem don’t just walk up to her and ask her what to do - think about possible solutions yourself.


Perhaps the manager even thanks or praises you for constantly addressing problems but that tells you more about her appreciative leadership style than about the actual value of your input. Look at it this way: You can either be the one who only “delivers” problems or you can add value to the team by addressing issues but already having different options or plans at hand on how to possibly deal with them. To your manager and team members it will feel like you are a constructive colleague instead of somebody who just rises concerns.


Do not let it get to the point where your manager tells you: “It does not help me if you always give me problems - i need you to give me solutions!”.


To sum it up: If you identify a problem and have the feeling you need to get rid of it, take a step back and think about possible solutions before handing it to your manager. This way you can become the solution guy instead of the problem guy.

41 Ansichten0 Kommentare

Aktuelle Beiträge

Alle ansehen

Kommentare


    ©2024  AJARI-Institut

    bottom of page