When it comes to building an organization including business empire, leadership is one of the most important keys to reach success together. The purpose of building a team is to have the right people in the right position so the problems arise can be solved effectively. A business team consists of people with different background and expertise. Diversity in the team is needed indeed. It brings out more diverse ideas.
How to respond when one of your employees brings out an idea?
Many managers or leaders demand solutions from their employees instead of problem. This is already great coaching so every member in the team will learn how to become a problem-solver. They will learn how to think of the problem critically and how to own it to find the right solution.
The problem is, sometimes a manager is caught off guard when one of the employees does bring out solution. If you are also not used to receive solution or idea from your employees you might be a little confused how to respond. Here are things you can do in this situation.
Assess the solution first
Assess whether or not the solution that is being presented can truly solve the problem. It can be seen from the innovation it brings. If the solution leads to the question ‘what should we do’ so it will grow to be the answer needed. This way, the solution will create more lasting, meaningful value.
Figure out who has the problem
When the solution is being presented, you need to assess who has the problem. Only then the solution will bring value because it can solve the problem faced by lots of people. At least, you need to asses if the solution make lots of people willing to pay lots of money. When you know who has the problem and who can be helped, it will not only bring value but also it justifies an investment in the solution.
Find the reason
Lots of people have problems but why should your company should be the one who solve them? The solution being presented should be consistent with strategic priorities. It also should advance ke goals or leverages an existing capability. Only then you can consider solving the problems.
Find out the level of certainty
One of your employees proposes an idea as a solution for a problem. Before investing in the solution, make sure to find out the level of certainty that the solution will work. Make sure that the solution proposed is not based on hunch without any logical and reasonable calculation.
See if the employee is passionate about solving the problem
When trying to solve problem, proposing an idea is not enough. We should be ready for challenges such as rejection and barriers. Hence, it is important to see if the employee proposing the idea/solution is passionate to see their resilience. Because even if the solution is brilliant, it still has chance of failure and they should be ready to face it.