Laura is a new manager who has six employees reporting to her. Five of the six employees are inquisitive, take initiative, know when to ask for assistance, and receive feedback well. The sixth employee does not. Laura shared several ways she has tried to engage with this employee, but she is frustrated and unsure what to do next. This employee has been with the company for a long time and has switched roles – coming to Laura’s department – a year before she took over the manager role. Laura’s challenge is that this employee comes to her with problems and wants Laura to solve them. Laura has been patient and instructive in working with the employee. She’s asked her to only come to her when she has a solution in mind or has done the research, and is able to give her all the facts, along with her own thoughts on how to solve the situation/issue. The employee continues to interrupt her several times a day and does not present solutions. Currently, Laura finds herself irritated, short, and dismissive or overly directive with this employee, and doesn’t like how she is showing up, but she is stumped at what she can do differently.
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