Why does every problem end up back on your desk?
Most staff are trained, accidentally, to be order takers. They bring you a problem and wait for you to solve it. Sometimes they already know the answer and are just looking for permission. Either way, you pay for it twice: once in their time, once in yours.
The goal is to build a culture where people bring solutions, not just situations. That means changing how you have the conversation, not just telling them to sort it out themselves.
How does the GROW framework change that conversation?
GROW is a coaching model originally created by Sir John Whitmore. It stands for Goal, Reality, Options, and Will (or Way forward). It is used by companies including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon for coaching and conflict resolution.
When a staff member comes to you with a problem, instead of solving it, you ask four questions:
- Goal: What outcome do we need, and by when? For example, get the proposal out by Friday.
- Reality: What information do we already have? What do we actually know right now?
- Options: What are three ways you could move forward from here? Could you call the client, send a template form, or use something you have already built?
- Will: Which option are you going to act on, by when, and how will you update me?
The conversation takes about 90 seconds. The problem shifts from something you own to something they own. According to the lesson, the same problem that might cost $70 or $100 in combined time drops to around $10 once a staff member has been through the GROW process a few times and starts applying it without prompting.
What are the four stages staff go through when learning to think for themselves?
The four stages of competence explain why delegation often fails at first. Everyone moves through these stages when learning something new, and your role as the business owner changes at each stage.
- Unconscious incompetence: They do not know what they do not know. Your job is to create awareness.
- Conscious incompetence: They know they are struggling. Your job is to support them, not take the task back.
- Conscious competence: They can do it, but it takes effort. Your job is to give them practice and constructive feedback without getting impatient.
- Unconscious competence: They do it automatically. Your job is to keep quality check-ins in place and involve them in growth, otherwise improvement stops.
The most common mistake at stage two is micromanaging or just taking the task back to keep things moving. At stage three, it is getting frustrated that you have explained something many times. At stage four, it is dropping all check-ins because things seem fine.
How do you give feedback that actually changes behaviour?
The SBI framework (Situation, Behaviour, Impact) gives you a structure for feedback that is specific and actionable rather than general criticism.
Instead of a staff member coming to you saying the client is upset, you coach them to report it this way: in yesterday's site meeting (situation), I committed to a deadline without checking capacity (behaviour), the client called you unhappy (impact), and I propose we offer this solution, is it okay to proceed?
The words will be different for every person, but the intent is what matters. They are taking accountability and arriving with a proposed solution, not just a problem.
What is the SOLVE sheet and how do you use it daily?
SOLVE is a problem-solving sheet your team fills in when an issue comes up on site or in admin. It asks five things, each answered in around ten to fifteen words:
- What is the problem?
- What was the root cause (not just the symptom)?
- What are three possible solutions?
- Which solution are you recommending and why?
- What do you need from me to move forward?
The sheet can be a Google Form, a printed sheet, or even a WhatsApp message. Twice a day, once in the morning and once at the end of the day, you spend twenty to thirty minutes going through the sheets with your crew. The point is not to embarrass anyone. It is a safe space where peers share what worked and you give permission to act independently next time.
Over time the number of sheets drops. The goal is that eventually the huddles are barely needed because the team is solving problems without bringing them to you at all.
How do you get staff to actually use the frameworks?
Position it as being for their benefit, not yours. They are there to earn, grow, and build a career. When they become better problem solvers they become higher-value employees. That is the honest reason to give them.
One practical note from the session: one business owner mentioned that when staff call him with a problem, he waits about half an hour before calling back. By then, they have usually solved it themselves. The act of explaining a problem out loud often produces the answer. A structure like GROW simply builds that habit deliberately.
