Managerial Problem Solving

No matter what industry you are in, you will run into difficulties that are not planned. Your internal customers (anyone in your company that has an interest in what you are doing) may be upset with you. Your external customers may be upset with you. So, what do you do when everyone is so upset?

What Actions Are You Taking To Improve Things?

If you have jobs or tasks that must be done in a given time period, you must also be aware of when it looks like it will be late. If this is the case, you need to take action. Just telling the boss isn’t good enough. They may not take action. And you’ll still be to blame.

The act of telling your boss about a problem doesn’t solve anything. It actually seldom solves anything. The best managers know how to solve problems when the pressure is on. Putting it on the boss doesn’t mean it isn’t your problem. If that’s your strategy, it won’t work. You look bad and your boss looks bad. No one is happy.

Solve Problems

Find a way to fix the problem! Once you know things are bad, search out a way to stop the issue. Talk with other departments if you need to as quickly as you can. Options can often be offered if there is still time. As time runs out, so do many options. At some point, there are no alternatives left except failure. Which is not acceptable. You have clearly exhausted your time.

Keep Your Eyes Open

If you are waiting for your team to come to you and tell you there is a problem, you’re too late. You must keep in touch with them as much as possible – even more so on the big-name accounts. If your team is struggling, they’ll often hesitate to report it. This makes your job tougher. Get out and talk with your team! Check in with how they’re doing, how close are they to completion, and so on. If you can do anything to speed them up, all the better. That’s your job! Maybe that means moving some material, or making them some copies. Sometimes you have to roll up your sleeves and help them out.

A happy customer will make a happy boss. If all you had done was to tell the boss about it and nothing else, everyone loses. Solving problems is what makes a great manager. If your team can learn to depend on you to help get things done, your leadership abilities will shine, too. You’ll become very valuable to your boss if they know they’ve got a problem-solver on their team, too.

If you want to find out more about managerial problem solving, then visit John Blake’s site on how to learn more aboutmanagement training.