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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