Give the Monkey Back

You know the situation. “Boss, I have a problem.” With that opening an employee dumps his problem on you. As business owners and take charge people we do what the employee expects we interrupt what we are doing and solve the problem. He has taken the monkey off his back and given it to you.

Next time this happens ask what the employee would do if you were not there. You will more than likely find out the employee had a solution for the problem but was looking for someone else to take the responsibility. You can discuss the issue with the employee and use it as a training moment. If possible log the solution so you can set a policy that will allow employees to solve problems without you. Often just empowering the employee to resolve issues will free up a lot of your time.  You need to be careful that you also do not become critical of reasonable decisions when they make them.

Accepting the monkey and solving the problem not only ties up you time at the moment but makes the employee comfortable so they  bring the next issue to you instead of doing what they know how to do given the chance. Your solution may also not be based on all the facts the employee knows because he has been dealing with the situation. Often our knee jerk reaction is the first solution that comes to mind and may not be the best solution to the problem.

Next time someone tries to give you the monkey off their back give it back or at least use it as a teaching moment so you can give it back next time. 

Original Material (c) Thomas Robinson