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By John Heggestuen, Business Insider
When you face a problem at work, how you communicate it to your
manager can have a big impact on whether or not you move to the next
level in your career.
It's made a big difference in my own career and it's one of the top
things I look for when I'm considering promoting people on my team.
I lead research for Business Insider Intelligence
and manage over 20 analysts and editors. At some point, everyone on my
team has had an issue come up where they asked me to step in and help
out. These issues are usually relatively tough to solve - otherwise
they wouldn't need to be escalated. And that means new work and a new
time commitment.
A key to getting ahead is understanding that
managers often have an overabundance of employees with problems, but
the people that they most like to work with are those that solve them.
Bringing a solution to the table rather than a problem is an indicator
that you are competent and can big trusted to take on more
responsibility.
It's really easy to spot competence. It's all in how you communicate the problems you're facing:
Level 1: 'I have a problem. What should I do?'
This
is a very junior way to communicate a problem. You are creating more
work for your manager because you are asking them to solve the problem
for you.
It's okay for entry level employees or employees who are
training for a new role, but if you don't get beyond this type of
communication, your career is going to stagnate and you might even be
let go.
Level 2: 'I have a problem. Here are potential solutions.'
Just
showing that you've thought about how to solve a problem is an
indicator of next level potential. You're still giving your manager
work, but if you provide good options for solving the problem, then
it's a lot less work.
Level 3a: 'I have a problem. Here are potential solutions. This is what I recommend. Here's why.'
If
you can do this habitually and your recommendations are sound, your
manager will absolutely love you. No matter what level you are in your
career, there are situations where this is the best way to communicate a
problem - some problems are going to be outside of your purview to
solve and you need a nod from your manager, or the CEO, or the board
before you can act (level 3b wouldn't be appropriate in these cases).
Level 3b: 'A problem came up. These were my options. I chose to do this, and here's why. It's handled.'
"It's
handled" is music to a busy manager's ears. This is how to communicate
issues that have come up that you have authority to make a decision
on. It keeps your manager in the loop, so if they're asked about the
issue they aren't caught off guard, and it doesn't create additional
work.
Level 4: 'It sounds like you are having this problem. Here are some options to solve it. Here is how I can help.'
If
you are anticipating your manager's needs and providing solutions,
then you'll likely become his or her most relied-upon employee. This is
someone who is operating at the next level. The caveat is that in
order to do this effectively, your own responsibilities already need to
be handled - otherwise it's going to backfire.
Learning to
communicate in a way that will get you to the next level is the easy
part. The hard part is developing the skills to solve problems, coming
up with good solutions, communicating competence habitually, and
following through on what you say you are going to do.
John Heggestuen is the Vice President of Research for Business Insider Intelligence,
Business Insider's premium market research service covering digital
transformation. He manages a team of over 20 analysts and editors in
New York and London.
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