Tag Archives: Question

How Do You Say “No”? Four Suggestions

Situation: A CEO has employees who frequently show up in his office with a request that he solves a problem for them. This takes up the time that he needs to solve bigger picture issues. He’s also concerned that employees should be able to solve these problems themselves. What tactics have others used to address this issue? How do you say “no”?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Don’t say “no.”
    • Saying “no” discourages future questions and reduces communication. Instead, answer their question with a question. Help them to see the next step in the process of solving the problem themselves.
  • What questions do you ask?
    • What do you think is the best solution?
    • Have you tried X, Y, Z?
    • Encourage them to use their peers as resources.
    • Focusing on #2 and #3, may give them insight into solving #1.
    • Have you spoken to (name) about this. (Name) may be able to help.
  • Another good response – “I can’t help you right now. Why don’t you try to solve it and I’ll follow-up with you when I can.”
  • It may be difficult to learn how to say no. Instead work on helping others to understand what you know about a particular technology or issue. Just ask questions to show them how to approach the problem, and then let them work through it.
    • This will take more time than “doing it yourself” at the beginning. However, they will rapidly gain more comfort working through issues and options on their own and will also gain both confidence and competence. Long-term it will save you time.

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How Do You Get the Best from Your People? Six Solutions

Situation: A CEO is concerned that employees are not taking enough initiative. They keep coming back to him for assistance solving each step in a process rather than solving it on their own or with the assistance of other team members. This takes time away from his primarily role developing and guiding the present and future of the company. What can he do help employees become more self-sufficient? How do you get the best from your people?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Don’t offer to help employees solve the problem or take over the task to save time and effort. Use the “answer a question with a question” technique to let them know that it is their responsibility to develop and complete the solutions and processes on their own.
  • Tailor the coaching approach to the particular individual and situation that he or she faces.
  • Just let go. Allow them to fly without depending on the CEO.
  • Classify frequent problems and solutions into types, and have the team develop solution templates for each type. Provide training on the solution templates so that everyone is familiar with them.
  • Select top performers to act as peer-mentors to train and cross-train staff. There are three rewards for their taking on this role: added recognition for their talents, accelerated promotion opportunity, and additional pay or bonuses for their efforts.
  • An excellent resource is The One-Minute Manager. It is short, to the point, and offers valuable techniques to encourage initiative and both independent and team problem-solving among employees.

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How Do You Tell a Client That They’re Wrong? Five Factors

Situation: A company’s client is furious at the service they received from the company, It turns out upon investigation that the source of the client’s difficulty arose from their own actions, not from anything done by the company or its employees. How do you tell a client that their assumptions are wrong?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Ask open-ended questions in an attempt to “clarify your understanding” of what happened. You want the client to answer these questions so that they explain the situation to themselves. Always allow them to save face in this process. Some people are better at this technique than others.
  • Try to understand the client’s experience of the problem as opposed to focusing on the problem itself. This may reveal more deep-seated challenges facing the client that are just being expressed through the current situation.
  • Email communications often complicate these conversations. Call or visit to let the client know that you are responding personally to their concern. The best communication is person-to-person through conversation. Let them vent. Peel back the onion through questioning to reveal the core problem.
  • Be honest. Not negative but simply honest. Listen to gain understanding and repeat the facts, as stated by the client, to assure that you properly understand their perspective. If you need to present your own perspective, and it differs from the client’s, do this in a neutral, unemotional tone.
  • Sometimes you will find a win-win in these discussions, and sometimes you won’t.

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How Do You Work With a Protector? Three Thoughts

Situation: The CEO of a company has a Director of Operations who aspires to more professional responsibility, but who is also hesitant to take on more work. This conflict in the mind of the Director poses a challenge for the CEO. How should the CEO work with this individual?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Key managers in certain roles, for example operations and finance, are naturally more conservative in their outlook. Often this is desirable for the role and is characterized as protector behavior in contrast with the ambitious entrepreneur’s builder behavior. These complimentary behaviors are essential to a successful enterprise – the builder to push the envelope and the protector to assure that the company’s resources aren’t stretched too thin.
  • Take the time to determine the source of hesitation by asking questions. Is it because the individual is meticulous and precise, or is there something else behind the hesitation? If the former, then a plan of action will enable the person to assess whether the next level of responsibility is in line with his or her expectations. If there is something else, work with the individual to define what this is and whether it is a barrier to additional responsibility or a temporary situation that can be alleviated.
  • Because this individual aspires to additional responsibility, be precise in explaining the demands of the next level position and the performance that you expect at this level. Develop a plan and objectives that will demonstrate whether the individual is ready to take on additional responsibility or not. For the meticulous, precise individual the plan will serve as confirmation of what is expected and will help him or her determine whether they are ready for more responsibility.

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