How do you turn energy-draining problems into drivers of innovation?

A GOOD LEADER ASKS INSTEAD OF ASSUMING

"How can exhausting problems be turned into drivers of innovation?" Well, I'm sure everyone has experienced this at some point.

When you're an executive, you face issues that aren't always pleasant, and you realize they drain your energy that they steal your strength.

I learnt early in my career that it's important to tell the difference between people who give me energy and those in my environment who drain it,who truly leave me feeling exhausted.

Over the years, I learned more and more.I tended to surround myself with people who recharged me.

And I don't mean that they are always overly positive,but people who simply think differently, who focus on solutions.

I've always said that I need people around me with a gift for solving problems.

Very often, in life and at work, you encounter problems.

But also for people who come up to you and say,"Boss, can you help me? I'm having some problems." Once, I was out with one of my executive teams in Austria.

We interviewed a business owner there who had to take on a lot of responsibility at a very young age and when we interviewed him,he was personally managing five different companies.

And we asked him: "How do you do it?With five different sites and so many employees,how do you solve problems?" He gave us a great piece of advice,which I gladly accepted.

I embraced that idea with a lot of pride because it's very simple.

When an employee approaches you with a problem, say,"Please, think of two solutions and then come back." Why is this so important?

Because with this approach, you encourage solution-focused thinking and action in your environment.

And a successful company can only be successful if its employees feel like entrepreneurs,have their own ideas, and create solutions.

It's not guaranteed that when the employee comes back with two proposed solutions, one of them will be the correct one.

But it's very useful to have two proposals to try to develop a better approach through dialogue.

And that has always been a source of energy for me.

If I've been able to contribute to finding a solution,it wasn't me who found it, but thanks to the employee's inspiration,we discovered better solutions together very often.

And for me, that has been a very important lesson in my career.

I also believe that, as a leader,you don't need to have an answer for everything.

That would be excessive.But you should help ensure that, within your direct environment and the teams you're responsible for, the idea of solution-focused thinking and action is encouraged.

Why ask for two solutions instead of just one?Well, two proposals are interesting because they allow you to choose.

If you tell someone: "Give me just one solution." At some point, they stop thinking.

But if you ask for two, it pushes them to broaden their horizon and reflect,"What could the other solution be?" Again, the two solutions, our number here,don't mean that one of them is the ideal solution.

But they help activate the mind and may even lead to a third, better solution which wouldn't have been found without the first two ideas.

Have you ever had an employee who was hesitant or who couldn't come up with a solution?

In that case, how did you deal with it?Logically, sometimes they couldn't find a solution,because it's very frustrating.

There are also extreme situations, where you're under a lot of stress and simply can't see a solution.

Yes, of course that happens.However, it's important to try to find a solution together.

It's even better if you have the opportunity to bring in a third person to show that together we can find a solution.

I mean, don't put everything on the boss, so to speak,expect them to handle it all. Instead, as a team,try to find a solution together.

That way, you can help build a team mindset based on solution-focused thinking and action.

And this has always been extremely helpful to me throughout my career.