How Not to Become Your Team’s Personal Tech Support Line

Let’s be honest,

if every little question keeps bouncing back to you,

you’re not managing…

you’re basically a walking version of Google.

(Just without the search engine or Incognito mode 😅)

But here’s a simple practice

that can break that loop once and for all:

Next time someone comes to you with a question,

instead of firing off an instant answer,

try one of these three responses:

“What do you think we should do?” “What options do you see?” “What did you learn from this for next time?”

These three questions work like magic.

They put the ball back in your employee’s court,

get them thinking,

and send a clear signal:

I trust you to figure this out.

At first, it’ll take some restraint.

(Feel free to bite your lip or sip your coffee slowly

especially if you’re mid-Zoom call 😉)

But soon enough,

you’ll notice a shift.

They’ll start showing up with solutions,

not just problems.

And you?

You’ll finally feel like you’re managing people

not running the company’s help desk.

So tell me

which of these three questions

are you going to try first thing tomorrow morning?