Dealing with problems through the eyes of an employee and a manager
We all face problems and go to our supervisor (manager / lead analyst, if you are a junior / supervisor, etc.) to get a solution to our problems. How does this usually happen? We come, outline the problem, the manager listens and says what needs to be done. Are you happy? Of course, the problem is solved.
But in the long run, this approach will not bring anything good:
You will not learn to think about solving your own problems, and you will rely on someone else;
Your manager will know that you cannot solve your own problems.
Your manager will spend less and less time doing important things like teaching you, because everyone will come to him to solve problems.
Implicitly, you are showing that you are not ready for an increase in the level of responsibility and independence – i.e. not ready for a promotion.
What to do? Below are two action plans that I used in my work as both an analyst and a department head, if you came with a problem, and if you are the manager to whom you came for a solution.
Action plan if I am a person with a problem
If you have a problem, first decide whether to go to your manager with it, or you can decide on one's own:
The main criterion is level of problemswhich you will receive if you are wrong. That is, will it critically affect the timing/budget/labor of the project or release.
The next question will be whether this includes your area of responsibility. For example, you are a junior analyst, and you understand that it is impossible to implement the authorization form the way the customer wanted, and you need to re-harmonize the requirements. But only the leading analyst is responsible for interaction with the customer. That is, this is not within your area of responsibility..
Is there any information on how to solve your problem? knowledge base or internet? For example, the confluence knowledge base or any other repository. Google it – maybe there are already solutions.
If the solution impossible to accept on your ownthen decide which format of communication with the manager will be preferable:
For non-urgent matters, a letter format is suitable. Do not forget to indicate at the beginning of the letter the premises that led to the problem and outline the problem. It is also good practice to indicate the deadline by which a decision is needed.
For urgent and small questions, chat correspondence is suitable.
For issues that require the manager to immerse himself in the problem and brainstorm solutions, the meeting format is suitable. In the invitation, also indicate the prerequisites that led to the problem and outline the problem – but more briefly than you would formulate in a letter. I do not recommend scheduling meetings to discuss a problem for more than half an hour (if only your manager is present at the meeting) – if more is needed, then it is best to give time to think about possible solutions and return to the issue at a second meeting. It may already be longer.
And, most importantly, what will incredibly please your manager, and pump you up and allow you to grow – come with your own solutions. Moreover, each decision must have a justification for why it is better / worse than another, as well as what pitfalls there may be.
There is an article by William Oncken, “Who Gets the Monkey,” which examines a manager’s time and how to spend it wisely. It is applicable to any activity, not just analytics or development in general. Subordinates come to the leader with their problems (“monkeys”) and leave, leaving the decision making to their leader (“transplanted the monkey”). In this case, the manager will choke on solving your problems and will not do anything other than that. A young or inexperienced manager may not know it, but if you take the initiative to help your manager free up his time, he will certainly notice. Eat levels of independencethat you can adopt and train in increasing your independence:
The manager gave the task, and through accepting the task, he independently learned about the problem (or himself determined that it existed).
The employee asks what needs to be done about the problem.
The employee proposes his solution plan, which he then implements. The manager can tell you what to pay attention to, or what pitfalls there are in a decision.
The employee acts independently, consulting along the way.
The employee acts completely independently and at the end submits a report on the work done.
Action plan if they come to me with a problem
I know that I have previously advised everyone to come to their manager with solutions to their problems. But from a manager's point of view, there are some more complex issues.
The first thing you should do when someone comes to you with a problem is to look at the level of the employee:
a junior with no work experience in the first six months/year of work after college or an employee in the first month of his probationary period experiences a lot of stress from everything that is happening. If you see that it is better to engage in training, then directly communicate the solution to the problem, and also take the time to convey your mental path of what you were thinking when you made the decision. Perhaps you should send the employee to a middle specialist to improve his problem-solving skills.
We need to ask the middle specialist (or, if we want to recruit newbies and juniors) every time about their vision of the solution. Moreover, ask a lot of additional questions in order to trace their path of thought, as well as improve their critical thinking with questions: “what consequences of this decision do you see?”
if a senior comes to you to solve problems without a clear plan, read the levels of independence above and think about what this senior lacks. In the next 1-on-1 meeting, it is worthwhile for the employee to highlight gaps in the area of autonomy, and perhaps indicate that he can make independent, informed decisions. And that you will support him and he can always ask for advicebut if the decision is in his area of responsibility, then he must make the decision himself. Maybe it’s worth finding out why he doesn’t make these decisions (fear of responsibility?).
Once you've discussed the problem and come up with a solution, try to get the employee to take action. Under no circumstances say that you will write a letter/contact someone/do something yourself. So all your discussions might not have happened – you lost time, and the employee shifted the problem (“monkey”) onto your shoulders. The right decision would be to ask to be included in the copy of the letter / to inform about the results / to give advice to come back if the problem is not solved.
The only exception can be some critical things that are time-sensitive and that do not require further work from you. But in this case, I would solve the problem myself, without consulting the employee. This way the issue will be resolved, you will transfer the results to the employee, the issue is closed. I’ll say right away that this practice should not be permanent and it is better to immediately sort out the situation with the employee and explain why you made this or that decision. This way the employee will learn.
