Stop Solving Every Problem Your Team Brings You

Answering every question can feel helpful, but it can hold your team back. This article explores why leaders should help employees learn to find answers themselves and how to start.

One of your longest-tenured employees pops into your office and says, “Quick question, how do I...?” After they leave, do you feel partially frustrated that maybe they should have known the answer, or at least known how to find it, while also feeling a little proud of yourself for helping your team? This is a situation almost every leader experiences.

As leaders, we often feel that our job is to know the answer to everything our team asks and to help solve every problem. And while that is partly true, we can do a disservice to our team and the organization when we give our employees every answer they need.

Growth happens when we are pushed beyond what we already know. Think back to when you were in school and asked for help with your homework. Did you learn the most when an adult gave you the answer, or did you learn the concept better when they helped you walk through how to find the answer yourself? The same concept applies to our teams.

Growth happens when we are pushed beyond what we already know.

Your employees may need time to develop the same habit. If your team is accustomed to coming to you for answers, they are not going to suddenly become independent problem-solvers. It takes time, guidance, and probably a little frustration along the way. The goal is to help them build the skills and confidence to find more answers without you.

It is a leader’s responsibility to provide guidance, encouragement, and corrective feedback, but it is not our job to solve every problem or answer every question.

Short-Term Cost, Long-Term Benefit

Now you might be thinking, It is easier and takes less time to give the answer to my team. Otherwise, I will need to spend three times the amount of time walking them through their question. Yes, it might take longer but think about the long-term benefits versus the short-term costs.

An employee who understands the expectation of how to find answers, troubleshoot situations, and sees you model this behavior will be more likely to adopt these behaviors in the future. The questions you spend more time on now with Team Member A may result in less time spent helping them with a hundred questions over the next two years. And Team Member A may eventually be able to help the other team members find the answers they need, creating a ripple effect from your initial investment.

The Cost of Always Having the Answer: Stop Solving Every Problem

There is also a cost to always being the person with the answer. Eventually, you become the place where every decision stops. Your employees wait for you instead of trusting themselves, and you spend more and more of your time answering questions they could have learned to answer themselves.

The next time an employee pops into your office with a quick question, ask yourself: Is this a question I need to answer, or is this a question they can learn to answer on their own? If the answer is yes, maybe your response is, “Let’s figure out the answer together,” instead of simply giving them the answer off the top of your head.

Whether your team is in Yuma or anywhere across the country, if you want support helping your people grow so you can stop solving every problem yourself, I'd love to talk. Schedule a consultation.

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