Create a Culture Where People Figure It Out

Ever feel like your team is constantly asking for guidance instead of figuring it out on their own?

In this Two-Minute Tip, I share how a simple kitchen moment reveals a big leadership truth: when people don’t feel safe to mess up, they default to asking for answers.

Learn how to:

1. Build safety for experimentation

2. Set guardrails wisely

3. Coach instead of just giving answers

If you want to lead problem solvers (not just order takers), this one’s for you.

• Read the video transcript

  Well, yesterday my daughter was driving me a little bit crazy because she asked me, I don't know, three or four times how long to heat something up in the microwave. And from my perspective, I'm thinking, I don't know, just experiment. Give it a try. See if it works. Pivot from there.

  Maybe you can relate or maybe you're that person in the household who asks others how long to heat something up.

  Well, it finally hit me. Maybe she's not being lazy. Maybe she's just worried about it exploding or worried about messing it up. And it just feels safer to ask Mom.

  As leaders, we set the tone. Have we made it a a space that's safe for "microwave explosions" or have we set the tone that it's not actually safe to make those kinds of mistakes?

  And I get it, not every single situation can be safe for that microwave explosion. So three quick things to think about.

  First, if this is a task, a project that we actually need to make sure is done a specific way and there is not space for mess ups, then we need to create those guardrails and be clear about them. Let the employee know that this is mission critical and we are giving them very clear directives and next steps here.

  Or if it's a situation where it's okay if some missteps are made, we need to clarify that and let them know we want them to experiment. We want them to maybe take some missteps along the way and to learn and grow through it.

  And then the last strategy I want you to keep in mind, regardless of the situation, is before you give answers, before you problem solve for the employee, pause, and instead ask some coaching questions. Ask thoughtful questions that will help them continue to exercise their critical thinking, their problem solving, rather than always being the answer-giver the problem solver. Maybe just maybe you could shift from fixer to coach and ask some thoughtful questions that help them grow through the experience.

  So next time my daughter asks me how long it takes to heat something in the microwave, I'm going to throw that question back to her and let her experiment with it. And I hope you'll do the same in your leadership.