As leader, your job is to help people be successful. Sometimes this means coaching them to find their own solution, and sometimes this means solving the problem yourself.
I recently jumped in to solve a problem for our new HR Manager. She has been receiving a lot of last minute time-sensitive requests from another department. This frustrated her to the point of possibly looking for another job.
Upon learning of the issue, I knew this wasn’t an opportunity to coach, but to jump into action.
Once I calmed our HR Manager down, I met with a leader from the other department and talked through how best to solve the problem. We worked through a solution that was good for both groups.
As a leader, knowing when to step in and solve problems is essential. Your people need to know that you care and that you have their back. Without that understanding, there is no trust; and without trust, the relationship is destined to fail.
