“What has to happen in the next two hours that will indicate time well spent,” Sam asked. Each person looked around at each of the other members of this management team, then looked down and began to write.

It was not Sam’s intention to figure out the solution to this problem. It was Sam’s intention to have the group figure out the solution to this problem.

The responses from the team were positive.

• We have to agree on the purpose. We have to agree on what we are trying to achieve. We have to agree on the goal.
• We have to agree on what actions we will take. We have to agree on the coordination and interdependencies of those actions. This has to be a period of cooperation.
• We have to agree on what results we are looking for. We have to agree on what measures we will collect and analyze. We have to agree to raise the flag when something doesn’t look right, not to bury our statistics in a warehouse.

Most importantly, this was no longer Sam’s problem. This problem now belonged to the group.

The conference room was comfortable. New leather chairs and a marble top. Nothing like success to create a little overhead.

Sam had assembled a cast of the brightest minds in the company. Marketing was represented, sales, customer service, production and accounting. Everyone looked armed with official looking reports, charts and graphs, ready to defend the slightest attack.

Sam was good. He wasn’t looking for a scapegoat. He knew the problem wasn’t from someone being lazy, or even a wrong decision. He knew it was more likely that the organization’s system needed some attention.

He began by explaining what he had observed, and asked each member to accurately report the real figures behind the events. Unfortunately, four weeks worth of excess finished goods had translated into an eight-week inventory turn. Something had put the brakes on the market.

“So, take a piece of paper,” Sam began, “and write down your condition of satisfaction for this meeting? What has to happen in the next two hours that will indicate time well spent?”

Ten reasons to use a team to solve a problem.

1. To generate fifteen alternative solutions instead of three.
2. To get more ideas on the way a project could go wrong. Think BP oil spill.
3. To gain technical insights that the manager doesn’t have. Managers think they know everything. They don’t.
4. To get Time Span perspectives on solutions from long-term impact to short-term execution.
5. To gain willing cooperation from the same team that identifies AND executes the solution. If the team does not believe in the solution, their execution will be poor.
6. To shift the energy from the manager to the team. Without this energy, the solution might not work. If all the energy comes from the manager, you will have a very tired, burnt out manager.
7. To increase engagement, team spirit, to build cooperation. If you want to build a team, give them a problem to solve.
8. To keep watchful eyes on the project, engaged watchful eyes, when the manager has to leave for a meeting.
9. To solve the same problem faster, the next time, even if the manager is not around.
10. It’s not that I am lazy, but my stress level, as a manager, goes down when I can share the work.

The next topic in our Working Leadership Online program is all about Team Problem Solving. It kicks off on Monday, July 5 (I know some of you will still be celebrating July 4). As is our custom, we are opening (50) Introductory Memberships to the program. If you would like to get on the list, follow this link to FREE Introductory Membership.

Your Introductory Membership makes you a full participant in this highly interactive learning program. Here’s what people say about it.

There’s a lot of valuable information in this course that isn’t easily available elsewhere, and the coaching from Tom in addition to accountability for actually carrying out the assignments makes for a solid learning experience. Keep up the good work. The online format makes the course accessible, and makes it easy to put into practice directly in a work environment. -Erik LaBianca

The option of learning online at my convenience is a great benefit. This program is excellent – I learned many things that I can apply as a manager. -Arlene Breitkreuz

I want to institutionalize this online training as a mandatory part of every manager’s experience in my company. -Derek Bullen

Why not take a minute, now, and sign up here? Working Leadership Introductory Membership

Gretchen’s face displayed confusion. “What do managers do to their teams that systematically, over time, disables them from being able to solve even the simplest of problems?” I repeated.

“You’re not thinking this is my fault, are you?” she finally spoke.

I turned my head to the side, still staring at her.

“No way,” she protested.

“Every time a manager provides the solution to a problem, it robs the team of its ability to engage the problem. Over time, the team’s ability to solve problems begins to atrophy. Before long, even the simplest of problems will be brought to the manager for solution finding.

“The team begins to enjoy this new arrangement. With the responsibility for the decision now firmly resting on the manager, so goes the responsibility for the outcome. If the outcome is poor, it’s the manager’s fault. If the outcome creates more problems, it’s the manager’s fault. Your team likes this arrangement.”

“You know, you are right,” I told Gretchen. “Your team, over time, has systematically become incapable of solving problems.”

Gretchen didn’t speak, but began to slowly nod her head.

“How did they get that way? What happened to them?” I asked.

“What do you mean, what happened to them?” Gretchen’s nodding stopped.

“When the people on your team started working here, they were full of questions. They were curious. They experimented. They made mistakes. They learned.”

Gretchen began to nod again.

“But, now, you tell me they act more like zombies. So what happened to them?” I was looking directly at Gretchen, not blinking. Her nod stopped again, so I continued.

“Gretchen, what do managers do to their teams that systematically, over time, disables them from being able to solve even the simplest of problems?”

Roy was pensive. “You mean, you think, that my team only resists my ideas when I tell them they are wrong?”

I looked at Roy. “I don’t know. What could you do differently to test that?”

“How can you test it, if they really are wrong?” Roy challenged.

“Let’s assume they ARE wrong,” I matched. “In what way can we move them toward your idea without telling them they are wrong?”

“Oh, you want me to coddle them,” Roy pushed back. “I’m sorry, that’s not me.”

“I don’t want you to coddle them. I want you to challenge them, with the same energy you are showing me, now. In what way can we challenge their thinking without telling them they are wrong?”