Timeout for Leadership-your one-minute leadership idea

Message from the Lead Dog Principal #13

Can you stop focusing on the problem?

That is a tough question. And for many, it is a difficult, if not impossible, task. Most people become obsessed with looking to blame someone. These same people hope they are not the ones that caused the problem and look to make sure that their personal backside is covered. Yet at the end of the day, that mentality may be the problem.

It is important that we quit trying to blame someone and look to find the solution to the problem. Leaders need to own whatever happened. They must “quit spin doctoring” and seek solutions to whatever the issue is.

Good teams do not dwell on a defeat. You cannot bring it back. For a game played on a Sunday, evaluate what happened, determine how to correct the mistakes and by Monday night, forget about that defeat and look to the next opportunity. Dwelling on that defeat will accomplish nothing, except perhaps start you into a spiral of more losing.  For you in the workplace, it may be a spiraling to an endless list of problems. I believe that winning begets winning and likewise, losing begets losing and problems beget more problems.

I never wanted to hear from anyone telling me that there is an organizational problem without bringing me a solution to that problem. You are on the right track when your staff can identify a problem and identify a solution to that problem. If your people are not engaged in this type of problem solving, you may have a bigger problem organizationally than you initially thought.

Successful leaders can’t solve problems by his or herself. Maybe this person can provide a short-term fix, but the organization will never thrive with this mentality.

Involve people in problem solving. They take ownership of the situation. They also grow as individuals. I also predict that when your culture moves to this mentality, your organization will have fewer problems.

So, stop looking to blame. Stop looking to be that individual supreme problem solver. Forget it, because it will never work. Start looking to collectively seek solutions. Be able to move on from a defeat or problem. Champions can do this. Can you?