Empower Your Employees to Make Their Own Decisions
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Tip
Do your employees come to you with every little question they have during the workday? These interruptions make it hard to do focused work, and are a sign that people don’t feel empowered to make decisions on their own. Here’s how to address the issue.
Model focus. Make clear that an “open-door policy” doesn’t mean that anyone is allowed to interrupt you at any time for any reason. Designate do-not-disturb times with some sort of signal, such as a do-not-disturb sign, a cubicle flag, or headphones. And empower your team to similarly protect their focus time. Everyone should know what the signals are and what they mean.
Promote confidence in your staff. Make sure everyone understands the responsibilities of their role and the types of decisions they can — and should — make on their own. Then, encourage them to find their own solutions to day-to-day problems. Instead of answering questions, try using the phrase, “I trust your judgment.”
Emphasize that it’s OK to make mistakes. When someone does make a bad call, bring attention to the lesson learned, and make sure it sticks, but if the decision was ethical and made in good faith, be supportive and empathetic. Use mistakes as teaching opportunities so that people become more self-sufficient in the future.
Translations
🇨🇳 授权你的员工自己做决定
你的员工在上班时间会带着他们所有的小问题来找你吗？这些干扰使得专注的工作变得很难，这也是一个信号，表明人们觉得自己没有能力做决定。下面是如何解决这一问题。
示范专注。明确“门户开放政策”并不意味着任何人可以在任何时候以任何理由打断你。用某种信号来指定“请勿打扰”的时间，比如“请勿打扰”的标志、隔间的旗帜或耳机。并且授权你的团队同样保护他们的注意力时间。每个人都应该知道这些信号是什么，它们意味着什么。
提升员工的信心。确保每个人都了解自己角色的责任，以及他们能够并且应该自己做出的决定类型。然后，鼓励他们找到自己解决日常问题的方法。不要回答问题，试着用“我相信你的判断”这个短语。
强调犯错是可以的。当某人做了一个糟糕的决定时，要注意所学到的教训，并确保它能持续下去，但是如果这个决定是合乎道德的并且是诚意的，那么要支持并且同情他。利用错误作为教学机会，使人们在未来变得更加自给自足。
