3 ms·
> It's not fine when the first tiny problem causes them to give up on a task and say they can't do it. That's an indication of a deeper issue, and needs investi
by strken 6y ago
> It's not fine when the first tiny problem causes them to give up on a task and say they can't do it. That's an indication of a deeper issue, and needs investigation.
A deeper issue with the employee, or a deeper issue with the processes and structure of your company? Is the solution to the "tiny problem" dependent on institutional knowledge that only exists inside someone's head? Does the employee have a peer to mentor them, and should you have facilitated that relationship? Is it a confidence issue, where the employee needs to be reassured rather than told off?
Why are they coming to you?
- marcus_holmes 6y agoBoth good questions. Especially the second one. It would need investigation ;) In my experience the most common cause of this is that the employee either doesn't want to do the task, or doesn't feel that they can do the task. If they don't want to, then that can sometimes be tricky to determine. Worth persevering with, though, because again it can be a sign of a deeper underlying issue. If they don't feel they can do it, then it's either a problem with their confidence, which can have many causes (everything from a fear of failure to workplace bullying). Or it's that they're right, and they actually can't do this task. Which might be because the task is specified badly, or that their training is incomplete. Or that the task is actually impossible but that's not apparent until you get into the details of it.
- cosmicforce 6y agoInteresting that you would tend to focus on the individual instead of the manager or process, when it comes to problem solving. I think most commenters here understand that complex problems require coordination and collaboration, and not just a bunch of engineers playing wack-a-mole.