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Little Problems Can Grow and Grow When you have problems and it involves people, it is best to deal with them as early as possible. The sooner you get it solved, the better off you often are. Occasionally, you can solve a problem simply by ignoring it, but that is actually the exception. More often, it simply gets worse. When people are involved, little problems have a way of ballooning into big problems. Big problems can become colossal. Suppose you learn, for example, that the people in your department are grousing because they did not get the same amount of time off as some other departments. You know that the complaint is unjustified. Your first inclination might be to simply ignore it—let them grouse. But why let your employees get worked up about something that really does not merit getting worked up over. Even if they calm down quickly, the grievance will usually stick in the back of their minds. There are enough grievances in this world without letting people get steamed up over imagined ones. Let’s face it. Some people are always unhappy no matter what is going on. But others become unhappy when they misread the facts or have no knowledge of the facts. The moment you hear that someone on your team is expressing dissatisfaction, get on the case as quickly as is practical, especially if it is an employee who is not prone to complain. Be sure you have the facts you need so you can get to the root of the matter and find out what is wrong. Investigate complaints whether they seem important or trivial on a time available basis. The most effective way to handle gripes is to let people talk about them and get them out in the open. One of the most underrated problem-solving strategies is to give someone a “good listening to.” As you track down complaints, you will find that many of them are due to misinformation or lack of communication. People are disturbed because they do not have the facts straight. They do not understand the real situation. The faster you correct these false impressions, the better off you will be. You cannot please everybody, but at least you can be sure they have the true picture. One of the marks of an effective leader is the ability to recognize problems early and take prompt action. The less skilled leader tends to ignore problems until they become so severe that he or she is forced to act. When you sense a problem, act as quickly as is practical. The more problems you eliminate while they are still small, the fewer big problems you will have to worry about as time goes by. For more information about Ken Chapman and Associates’ Leadership Development Programs, contact Ken Chapman at 205.366.0265 or email Ken at kchapman@leaderscode.com. <End> |
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