Management Principles: Solving Problems and Making Mistakes

Numbers 4 and 5: 

Of the list of topics relating to the Management Principles, these two definitely go hand in hand. 

There are very few things that can upset a manager more than the employee who comes to him or her with problems but no recommendation of how best to solve the problem.  Just problems.  No solutions.  My thought has always been if you are going to come to me with a headache, you’d better bring the aspirin.

                  Fear of making a mistake is another.  If you are always looking for someone else to be liable for what can go wrong, then you will never be successful.  Do not be afraid to make a mistake.  In fact, it shows your true character.  How do you handle yourself when something goes wrong, especially when it was your responsibility?  Do you stand up and admit your mistake, or do you perform some type of new Olympic event with the “duck, shuffle, and point the blame”.

                  So how do these go together?  As a leader I have many expectations.  I expect that when I direct and delegate, that you understand you have the wiggle room to make deck-plate decisions without checking in with me on every step.  In fact, I trust you to use your experience and expertise to make appropriate and timely decisions in order to keep working.  Given this knowledge, I assume you understand that when a problem arises it is you that I expect to come up with a solution and execute that solution.  Will you always be right?  Hell no.  Will you make a mistake?  Hell yes.  But that is the genius part of this.  I believe in you.  I believe you did not make a mistake on purpose. I believe that whatever mistake you have made will in fact be a great lesson learned. 

                  Now, with that being said, there must be some rules to live by:

1)      Some situations will require a boss’s judgment, authority, or experience to come to the optimum solution. Your job is not just to identify problems, but also to develop, prepare, and execute solutions according to the direction given by management. 

2)     We must learn from our experiences and expect our people to do so also.

Knowing this, you and those who work for you should feel more empowered to come up with solutions to the problem.  Identify the risk versus gain, and decide a plan ahead.  If during the execution of this planned solution you make a mistake, it is okay—take a deep breath.  Most of the time it is a minor course correction that will get you back on the right path.  It is so much better to make an informed decision knowing that adjustments will need to be made, than to never make a decision at all.