Specialty Fabrics Review August 2024 - 79

for themselves. This type of behavior
stifles creativity and promotes laziness.
It also makes it very difficult to develop
promotable employees.
The tougher, but ultimately more
fruitful, option is to invite input. When
presented with a situation, turn away
from the computer and get ready for
a learning opportunity. Once you are
able to give the employee your full
attention, ask your direct report, " How
do you think we should handle it? " or
" What do you think we should do? "
Whatever their suggestion, and unless
it will cause grave bodily harm or
financial ruin, your response should
be, " OK. Let's give it a shot. "
For the manager with control
issues, this will be a monumental
exercise in self-restraint. I get it. It's
hard to let others run with a solution
that differs from your own, but it is
the first step in getting your team
members to think for themselves and
encourage their creativity. Over time,
they will become more confident in
handling opportunities.
Chicken and egg
When I ask managers to list the biggest
challenges they face, time management
is always near the top. Nearly all of
them want to become more proactive
versus reactive. Becoming more of a
visionary is a great goal-if you can
carve out the time. And of course
managers don't have the time. They
are so busy reacting to the situations
their employees dump on their desks
they will never have time to look at the
bigger picture. But when employees
start pulling their weight in the
thinking department, the manager
will be able to free up time to become
a better leader. Does anyone see the
chicken or the egg here?
Empowering leaders are primarily
focused on the goal, while the specific
path is a secondary concern. There
are many ways to solve a problem, just
as there are many ways to skin a cat.
Fear-based managers will insist on
their path being the only method. They
have simply reversed the priorities
here. When the path becomes more
important than the goal, creativity is
stifled. When we put the goal above the
path, the organization can finally begin
to tap into its greatest asset of all-the
collective creativity of the team.
Jason Bader is the managing partner of The
Distribution Team, a firm that specializes in helping
distributors become more profitable through strategic
planning and operating efficiencies. You can reach
him at (503) 282-2333 or Jason@DistributionTeam.
com. Also visit The Distribution Team's website at
TheDistributionTeam.com.
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