How to Reduce Your "Fire Fighting" Burden

Increasingly, supervisors and managers are required to spend large chunks of their workdays “putting out fires.”

In fact, a recent survey developed by The Creative Group, a company that provides marketing, advertising, creative and web professionals on a project basis, found that managers spend up to one-third of their time responding to workplace crises.

Tracey Fuller, executive director of the Creative Group, said nipping small problems in the bud before they become big ones can dramatically reduce the amount of time a manager spends fighting fires.

Fuller suggests the following “firefighting” tips:
-Encourage workers to approach you with problems by maintaining your composure, thanking them for bringing items to your attention and working with them to identify solutions. Don’t shoot the messenger!
-Lead by example. When you make a mistake, don’t attempt to gloss over it. Admit it to your workers and discuss the measures you are taking to prevent it from happening again. Letting staff know when you’ve made a decision you regret encourages them to be up-front, too.
-Give them some leverage. Provide workers with enough freedom to troubleshoot issues and reward them for doing so successfully.
-Use a temporary patch kit. If you don’t know the best response to a situation right away, find a temporary solution that will buy you some time to develop an effective permanent fix.
-Speak up. If you have concerns with an employee, say something right away. Don’t store up a list of complaints and unleash them in a tirade. The same strategy should be used with vendors who are delivering less than stellar service to your company or organization.