SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 190,000 business leaders. We run the poll question each week in our e-newsletter.
How do you handle someone who’s a “squeaky wheel”?
- I always meet their needs and answer their questions: 7%
- I ask them to generate solutions before coming to me: 90%
- I direct them to go to someone else for help: 2%
- I refuse to meet with them until they have something for review: 1%
Make them Self-Sufficient. “Squeaky Wheels” can consume a great deal of your time if you’re not careful. For the vast majority of you, the push toward making them self-sufficient is clear. For those who aren’t taking this approach, I encourage you to look at how you can wean them from the amount of support you provide. If you use basic self-sufficiency building approaches, you should be able to reclaim that time to invest it elsewhere.
Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS, author of “Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results” and “One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership.”