Many of us, by nature, are problem solvers, so our natural tendency is to step in and solve a problem when we see one. Others may dislike conflict or discord and, thus, we work to eliminate this when it comes up. When this happens we have stepped in to solve a problem.
In all teams someone has to be the leader and is ultimately responsible for making the decisions. During surgery, the surgeon accepts and takes responsibility for making the ultimate decision when necessary. In business, someone has to accept responsibility for making a decision too, and this is different than solving a problem. You may make a decision in order to solve a problem (bickering, inability of the team to decide, believe you know best…) and this is what I’m talking about — stepping in to solve the problem instead of letting the team do it. This is a leadership skill to develop.
Instead of deciding because the team can’t, or stepping in with a solution because you are trying to end the arguments that are occurring, help the team learn how to solve their own problems. As the leader, your role is to mentor, guide, and help them become cohesive, not to solve the problem for them.
What’s your role?
Leaders naturally want to lead. The challenge is that many leaders are often impatient. They want to get to the decision quickly and take action. It doesn’t fit their personalities to process and think and consider every possibility and not take action. That’s part of what causes leaders to move quickly to problem-solving mode.
But the role of the leader in a team is not to solve their problems. If the team is arguing and finger pointing, they need to learn how to work through this challenge so they can get to decision making. This is where team leading skills come in. Should the team not be asking the right questions, they need to learn (sometimes the hard way) what questions they should have asked, instead of you rushing in to tell them the right ones to ask. When the team is stuck and in process and not coming to a decision, it’s not your job to push the process along and force a decision or make one for them.
Your role as leader is to provide guidance and support and mentoring and coaching. Instead of telling them the right questions to ask, ask them “are there other factors we should consider that we might be overlooking?”. When they respond they don’t know, ask “how might you find out?”. When they are stuck in process, considering and reconsidering every angle, trying to make everyone happy, your role is to help them resolve this, not do it for them. You can ask a question, such as “how can we make a decision without knowing all the facts?” or “what has to happen for the team to step out of process into decision making even if everyone can’t be satisfied?” This is demonstrating effective leadership skills.
The point is to help them, not by giving them the answers or solving the problem, but through coaching and asking them questions to help them see possibility. Get them to consider other options without telling them what those options are. Coaching is about helping them see what they cannot yet see so they can work more effectively together.
What happens when they can’t get it done?
I’d be naive if I believed that in 100% of the situations you face with the team that they can resolve it themselves. Frankly, even if they can get there sometimes, you don’t always have the luxury of time. There are times they simply can’t get out of their own way and nothing will happen without intervention. How do you know when it’s time to intervene?
When time is working against you then, of course, you have to step in. There are certain decisions that have to be made in a short period of time. If the team can’t get there on their own, someone has to make the decision. A great team leadership skill to learn though is when you do make the decision to do two things. Share with them that time was the enemy and a decision had to be made. Also share with them how you made the decision. What criteria did you use? What was your thought process? Hopefully they will learn from this to be able to come to a decision more quickly next time.
Teams are made up of personalities and when there are clearly egos or personalities that are battling and they are stuck in this posture, someone has to step in. When the disagreements become destructive rather than constructive, it’s time to step in.
There is no template I can provide as to when you should step in and solve the problem. What I will say, though, is that when you do step in to solve the problem, make sure you are telling them why you are doing this. And help them understand your thought process, both in terms of the timing for you doing this and what went into the decision you are making. Finally, let them know what your expectations are for the next time. You don’t want to leave them thinking that you will always be there to solve the problem or decide when they can’t. Great leadership skills are important and one to learn sooner rather than later is to quit solving problems for the team, teach them how to do it themselves.
Still not sure if coaching is right for you? Schedule a complimentary thirty-minute call with Linda to walk through your needs and discover if coaching is the best next step for you.
