DON'T LET YOUR TEAM DROP PROBLEMS ON YOU WITHOUT SOLUTIONS

[Jason Malabute]

One mistake that I used to make was thinking that I am responsible for coming up with solutions when my team brings problems to my plate. I  thought that since I was the "boss" it was my responsibility to resolve problems for my team. 

What I realized though was when I take on the responsibility of solving problems for my team I am taking time and energy from my bigger value tasks. For example, I am taking time from analyzing deals, talking to potential investors, negotiating with sellers, etc because I am distracted by a new problem brought to me by a team member.

A better approach is to make it a policy for my team not to bring problems to my plate until they came with potential solutions to accompany the problem. This forces the team member to think about solutions and be more self reliant. As the leader, my goal is to help assist them on picking the best solution option and give my input if I think there is a better solution than the options provided.  This will be implemented starting on Monday.