If you want to empower your people to take ownership of their respective roles and be effective at handling their own challenges, transition from the Chief Problem Solver who has to fix everything to the Chief Problem Solver who Coaches their people to their own solutions. Otherwise, you’ll continue to create what every manager wants to avoid most.

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Complete Video Transcript

To coach effectively, managers need to give up their role as Chief Problem Solver, because that’s not your true value. Unfortunately, managers learn the wrong lesson.

They learn, “My value is being the Subject Matter Expert. My value is my experience.”

No. That’s only part of your value. Your real value and primary objective as a manager is making your people more valuable. And you don’t make your people more valuable by making them more dependent on you.

Here’s another coaching paradox: We create what we want to avoid.

What does every manager want? A team of independent, accountable salespeople. When giving the answer, what message are you really sending every single time your people come to you with a problem? Well, the message you’re sending is, “If you have a problem, come to me and I’ll fix it for you.” Unfortunately, this creates an atmosphere where managers are developing a team of dependent sellers that are not accountable.

Almost every manager I know wants to make a positive impact. But doing so requires letting go of your own agenda and the need to always fix things. Think about how you feel when you get through a problem on your own. Give that gift to your people and watch them grow.