S1 E17 From Problems to Progress: Building a Solution-Oriented Workplace Culture

Summary   In this workshop, Marc Reynolds discusses how business leaders can foster a positive workplace culture by encouraging employees to provide solutions to problems rather than just pointing them out. He emphasizes the importance of creating solution-oriented feedback channels, empowering employees, and conducting solution-driven meetings to enhance team effectiveness and navigate challenges effectively.   Takeaways

• Encourage employees to present solutions alongside problems.
• Create accessible channels for solution-oriented feedback.
• Empower employees with autonomy and decision-making authority.
• Recognize and reward proactive problem-solving efforts.
• Implement a yes and culture to foster collaboration.
• Train employees to take ownership of their responsibilities.
• Mistakes should be viewed as opportunities for progress.
• Regular meetings should focus on solutions, not just problems.
• Public acknowledgment of contributions boosts morale.
• Fostering a culture of asking for help enhances teamwork.

Chapters   00:00 Fostering a Solution-Oriented Workplace Culture 03:07 Empowerment and Ownership in Problem Solving 05:48 Creating Solution-Driven Meetings and Collaboration   Keywords   workplace culture, problem solving, employee empowerment, team effectiveness, feedback channels, solution-oriented mindset

Episode Transcript

(00:14):
If you are a business leaderlooking to foster positive workplace
culture, enhanceteam effectiveness and navigate challenges
effectivelywhile focusing on strategic objectives or
if you just want to make work work better,then join us for today's mini workshop
where we share three thingsyou can do today to encourage employees
to consistently provide

(00:34):
possible solutions to problemsthey encounter without prompting.
The problem you might be experiencingmight be something like this.
Pointing out a problemwithout a solution is just complaining
or making the person who pointed outpart of the problem.
You don't want a cultureof whining or complaining,
but you do want a culturewhere people feel free to share
feedback and offer suggestionsand point out problems.

(00:56):
You want a culture where peopleare empowered to find solutions
to problems and implement those actions,or take them to those who can.
The best kind of problem is one that issolved by the first person to discover it.
Let me give you an example.
Sometimes running a businessis like trying to keep your house clean.
For example,say someone tracks mud in the house.

(01:20):
And everyone's pointing to it and saying,oh, there's mud over there, there's mud.
It's going to get all over the place,but no one does anything about it.
Does that sound familiar?
Ideally, you would want your teamsempowered to see the proverbial mud
on the floor and clean it upbefore you even noticed it was there.
And a new system in place to prevent
mud being trackedthrough the house in the future.

(01:40):
So there's a few key points to this.
One, The return and report principle.
That is you want to train your people.
Now when they're giving you an assignmentor they're given a responsibility,
it is then their job to complete thatand then report back to you.
Not wait for you to hunt them downand ask and see what happened

(02:00):
Second is to train your employeesand make it a habit yourself
that when you point out a problem, youthen present a few solutions.
Those solutions never have to bethe one you actually go with.
If an employee says,I don't know, then do like,
well, what would you think if you werethe only one that could do this?

(02:24):
What would you choose to do?
And see what they have to say.
It doesn't mean you have to listento their suggestion either.
What it does do is it empowerspeople to not get in the mindset
that they don't have options, thatit's someone else's problem,
and that they can't come up with solutionson their own.
You want an empowered employee culture.
Here's three things you can do today.

(02:46):
First, create solution oriented feedbackchannels.
This might be a placewhere people can report
through a suggestion box,an online platform, regular team
meetings on problems and where immediatelythey then present solutions.
And you open to an entire group

(03:07):
where everyone canthen start trying to troubleshoot.
And then the responsible
party can make a decision on whichwhich option you choose.
Ensure that these channels are easyto access, recognize
and reward employeeswho contribute solutions,
whether through public acknowledgment,incentives or incorporating their ideas
into action plans to reinforce theimportance of proactive problem solving.

(03:30):
Make it a company policythat if you present a problem,
you need to present a solution.
It doesn't have to be a good solution.
It has to be your best solution possible.
Create a culture where it is safeand encouraged to ask for help and input.
Second, empowerment and ownershipculture - foster
a culture where employeesfeel empowered and responsible

(03:53):
for finding solutions to problemsthey encounter.
This can be achieved by giving employeesmore autonomy and decision
making authority in their roles, andencourage managers to support their teams,
and taking ownership of issuesand experimenting with solutions.
Micromanagingis the opposite of empowerment culture.
Accountability is essential.
Micromanaging is not.

(04:15):
What this means issometimes managers and executives
need to allow their employeesthe freedom to fail and to make mistakes.
You might think,but that's not acceptable.
Isn't that the opposite of excellenceculture?
My answer be absolutely not.
That is a crucial stepto excellence culture.
Where that becomes a problem.
Is if those behaviors continueand aren't improved

(04:39):
upon, aren't changed, or aren't followed,then that becomes tolerating
poor performance and behaviorthat is not acceptable.
Mistakes are fine if progress follows.
We would love to come work with youand provide training on problem
solving techniques and creativethinking to equip your employees
with necessary skills and confidenceto address the challenges.

(04:59):
We would love to get to work with you.
The third thing you can do todayis to create solution driven meetings.
Reframe
regular meetings to be solution drivenby setting aside time
specifically for discussing problemsand potential solutions.
Implement a problem solution segmentand team meetings
where employees are encouragedto present any challenges

(05:21):
they facealong with their suggested solutions.
Encourage a collaborative approachwhere team
members can build on each other's ideasand ensure that these discussions
are constructive and focusedon finding actionable outcomes.
Lead by example by actively participatingin these sessions
and demonstrating a positive, solutionoriented mindset.
One of the best things you can doon this note,

(05:43):
create a “Yes, and...” culture.
It doesn't meanwe have to agree with anything,
but when we are in brainstorming, solutionfinding,
or open discussion type of meetings
where we're exploring options
that the word shouldalways be “Yes, and...” and

(06:04):
you should
avoid the word “but” like the plague.
Why? “Yes, and...” encouragessomeone to acknowledge
someone else's idea and then build on itor offer a new direction to take things.
The word “but” immediately negatesthe original person's idea
and creates this sense of competitionand conflict

(06:24):
that is counter to innovationand collaboration.
These three tips, will helpyou start to learn
how to train your employeesto offer solutions.
Instead of just pointing out problems.
Don't forget to click like, subscribe,follow,
comment, offer us feedback, suggestions
and share your storieswith us of what's worked and what hasn't

(06:47):
when it comes to making work, work betterand we'll see you next time.