Want a solution? Sometimes you have to get out of the room.


Want a Solution? Sometimes you have to get out of the room.


My uncle managed retail operations and would tell me he’d respond to an employee with a problem by saying ‘that’s interesting; let me know how you work it out.’  In teaching small business management at university, I follow a similar theme with the ‘One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey’ – where problems are personified as monkeys and managers delegate while still maintaining oversight.

As I’ve held various governance roles in the public and private sector I’ve adapted this approach to problem solving.  Other than issues with the CEO/CAO, most other problems belong to management.  A board or council role is not to create or find solutions but to choose and approve one.  I cringe when I hear that a local government council is going to hold a workshop to solve a problem – none have the expertise in the particular field – they have employees who do.  I believe their role is to hold those managers accountable and require that they recommend solutions.  Established practice is that Councils/Boards chose a solution and ensure it is implemented.

There is a grey area though.  Sometimes management need to bring forward a solution which may include an appreciation of the board’s sensitivities.  This does not mean that they abdicate their responsibility to make a recommendation based on their expertise and experience – but they may struggle to know what else their governors may want to address.  To bridge that gap I’ve sat in meetings with managers to give them a sense of what their board or council is expecting – the range of possibilities – sometimes even a sense of urgency.  A capital project is over budget or behind schedule; protesters may be camped in a park or an office building; technology has been breached; or a court case is going sideways – are examples of issues in the ‘grey zone.’

To make our roles clear I’d often joke that ‘everyone in the room who gets paid more than me has to come up with a solution.’  Everyone always gets paid more than in me but more importantly, everyone has been hired to be a problem solver not an order-taker. I usually make a few remarks to set the tone and then let the most senior manager run the meeting - and soon after I’d wait for the right time to leave the meeting. 

My view is that to find the right solution you have to throw out some bad ones and that many managers would be reluctant to risk suggesting a bad idea with the Mayor/Chair in the room.  I work in the ‘grey zone’ by setting the tone and then by leaving the room.  After the meeting I’d ask for an update from the senior manager and determine if their recommendation was ready for ‘prime time’ – a place on the Board/Council agenda.  

Sometimes I’d encourage some fine-tuning but tell the manager that they own the recommendation however they frame it and that I would back them up.  Again my style in the grey zone – if I’ve had input into the atmosphere that created the proposed solution then I’d have to back management up going forward.  In fact at the start of the Board/Council session I’d advise my colleagues of my contact with management and my confidence in them.

I believe this ‘grey zone’ respects the ‘nose in, fingers out’ rule about the distinction between governance and management yet avoids the ‘fingers crossed’ approach where the board/council hopes management comes up with a solution they can live with.  That being said I’ve always been curious about some of the dumb ideas that have been floated while I’ve been out of the room.



Check out my website at http://frankleonard.ca/ for information on Local Government and Consulting

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