Ask Coach: How Do I Empower My Team To Solve Problems? (Part 2)

By Rich Anderson, executive coach with HTG Peer Groups

Q: How do I empower my team to make decisions on their own, look at the whole picture of the problem, and bring it to resolution?

Coach: Last time I began answering this question from Competent Eddie the Owner, whom I call C.E.O. for short, by using one of my favorite childhood American T.V. icons, Mighty Mouse, to pose the question, “What have I done to erode independent decisions and actions on the part of my team?”

Today I am going to share a second icon, a character named Carnac the Magnificent, who was portrayed by the Tonight Show’s Johnny Carson. 

Icon 2: Don’t Be Carnac The Magnificent
(You might also title this: “How Well Do You Understand Your Team?”)

“And now, the great seer, soothsayer, and sage, Carnac the Magnificent.” With that phrase, Ed McMahon would introduce Johnny Carson as Carnac.  Johnny would then stumble in, dressed in his feathered turban and cape, and proceed to divine answers to questions in envelopes that had been hermetically sealed and stored in a mayonnaise jar….

You don’t need to be a seer, soothsayer, or a sage to address your question, but understanding the nature and makeup of your team members will help you immensely. 

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