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The People Gardener Podcast with Rhonda Delaney
The People Gardener Podcast with Rhonda Delaney
Your Employees Probably Have Better Solutions Than You Do
Picture this: Your team member approaches with yet another problem needing your solution. Sound familiar? What if there was a way to empower your people while freeing your mind from constant problem-solving? Enter the 1-3-1 method. (Dan Martell's name for it!)
This forgotten leadership gem asks employees to define their problem clearly (1), present three potential solutions (3), and recommend their preferred approach (1). The magic happens when you realize your team members often devise better solutions than you could—they're simply closer to the problems with access to better data. By implementing this method, you're training your people to become "the CEO of their desk," taking ownership and making informed decisions that drive your business forward.
The 1-3-1 (Dan Martell's name for it!) approach transforms your leadership style and company culture. It dramatically reduces decision fatigue, allowing you to focus on strategic growth rather than daily fires. It demonstrates profound trust in your team's capabilities, showing that you value their intelligence and creativity. Most importantly, it creates a pathway for growth within your organization—employees who excel at problem-solving become prime candidates for increased responsibilities and leadership positions.
I witnessed this transformation firsthand in my corporate days. When I took over as operations manager and empowered my production team to make decisions, one employee struggled to believe I genuinely trusted his judgment. After months of reassurance, he finally embraced his decision-making power, revolutionizing his confidence and contribution. This experience confirmed what I've always believed: when people feel truly valued, they become raving fans who have your back and help your business thrive. Ready to rediscover the leadership processes that will transform your team? Let's start with the 1-3-1 method (Dan Martell's name for it!) today.
Well, hey there, welcome to the People Gardener podcast. I'm Rhonda Delaney, your host, also known as the People Gardener, thrilled to put this podcast together to help small business owners, new business owners, frustrated business owners and aspiring leaders, whether they're inside business or outside. Each week, we bring you some actionable steps so that you can actually improve your skill as a leader. That's what we're about. We're here to help you become a better leader by giving you access to lots of different perspectives. By giving you access to lots of different perspectives, the guests are varied. We're thrilled to have them. Get out your pen, get out your paper and be ready to learn Every single episode. You're going to be able to take something away that you can implement. Are you ready? Let's get to work. Well, hey there. Welcome back to the People Gardener podcast. Happy to have you here. This week we are going to talk about rediscovering processes and procedures that have worked for you and you have just simply let them die out. Let them stop.
Speaker 1:This all came to me as I was listening to Dan Martell. He is a business owner. He's had a number of businesses $100 million exits on a few of them but he was talking about a process that he used when he was working with employees that had difficulties and problems. And there was just this flashback for me back when I was in corporate, because I utilized this same process I just didn't have a cool name for it. He calls it the one three one. What it is is when somebody comes to you with a problem that they're wanting you, what it is they're trying to solve and sometimes just even that first step getting more clarity then it makes it easier to come up with a solution because you know better what the problem is. So get them to identify that. Then the next step is asking them to come up with three solutions. When you're first getting started on this, you're having to educate them and train them. Okay, so this is how it works. When you come to me with a problem, you got to define it, you've got to come up with some solutions and then you need to make recommendations so they understand that that's a process and before long they will come with their three solutions. The first few times, it could be that, oh, they forgot they needed to come up with some illusions, and really what you're doing is you're training them to be the president and CEO of their desk, and that's something that I teach, something that's inside my membership, that's available. It's a video class on encouraging and helping your people structure how they work, to look at things as the president and the CEO, that they can see what's coming in, what's going out and they can make an informed decision about how things need to operate at their desk. Okay, so I digress. That's a topic for another day.
Speaker 1:So they come up with three solutions to their problem. The beauty of this approach is they know best. They're the ones that are in this situation. They're the ones that see all of the potential ways that things could be differentminute information to actually make an informed decision on how best to solve this problem. So they've given you what the problem is, clearly defined it and you understand it perfectly. And if you don't, you've got to start asking the questions and probing. So we've established that they know specifically what the problem is, and then They've come up with these three solutions and you listen to them Again, you probe, you ask questions and making sure that you're clear on what the solution is, and then you simply ask them what do you believe is the best solution of the three that you presented? They will then tell you what they believe is the best solution, and chances are you're going to absolutely agree with them, because they have taken the time to consider all of the information that's at their disposal in the trenches, that they know the workings inside and out, and chances are you're going to agree with them. And what that does? Number one it empowers your employee to actually be part of the business and making sure that everything's working well. But it frees up your brain from problem solving. It eliminates I shouldn't say eliminates, it greatly reduces the decision-making fatigue that so often plagues small business owners, because the buck stops with you, no question. I mean you are the one that is responsible for this business, for the employees, all the rest of it. It gives you time back to work on your business instead of constantly in it and putting out fires. This whole process works when you are willing to coach your employees and you are unwilling to be the initial problem solver. Give them some space, give them opportunity to show what they're capable of doing. They will solve it and chances are. This might hurt your ego a little bit, but they'll solve it better than you could because they have better data, they have better information, they are closer to all of the parts of the issue that are causing the problem. You know, it was interesting.
Speaker 1:Back when I was in corporate and when I was made operations manager, I had a team of two people out in the production facility. One of the gals my darling darling I call her my fourth daughter, andrea. She was our oldest daughter's best friend, and then Lee, and the two of them had really been running the production department. The person that was in the position that I took over from was not someone who invited employees to participate, and so for the first oh, I want to say it was months, it was several months they would come to me, and I should preface this by saying I had a meeting with the two of them. We spent all day. We went through their vision, all of their challenges, struggles, things that they wanted to see change, things that they wanted to see improve, and I just told them this is your department. So you are going to be the final word on what happens in this department and just keep me in the loop of you know what you're thinking of doing.
Speaker 1:Well, andrea, she knew me. She'd known me since she was, I want to say, 12, 13. She knew how I operated and she knew that what I said was what I did, and so for her it was no big deal to just come in and make the changes, because she knew that I trusted them, because they certainly knew way more about all the machines and the production and how long things took and all the rest of it. But, poor Lee, it was so foreign to him because he had never been exposed to a boss in quotation marks or a leader that inherently trusted him to do the best job possible, and so he would come in and he would say so you know, this is what I'm thinking of doing. And I said, well, that makes sense, go for it. And he kept coming back and coming back until eventually he realized wow, she does trust me to come up with solutions for things that make the most sense for the.
Speaker 1:This is where you want to get to. You want to get to the point that people understand that they are valued, their contribution is valued, their intelligence is valued, their creativity is valued, what they bring to the table, what they bring to the job and to the company, is valued. It's important, and the way that you do that is by having them exercise their minds and their creativity as part of their job. This whole decision-making thing that relieves you of so much is a wonderful stepping stone for them. Because here's the thing the more you empower your people, your employees, to make decisions, the easier it is for you to move them to.
Speaker 1:More responsibility Could be a leadership position. It could be being the lead on a specific project. It could be you move them to be the face of the company. It could be on your social media. It could be at the local chamber meeting. They're the person that goes and represents your company. When you can give them the opportunity to make these decisions, come up with solutions and empower them.
Speaker 1:That's all part of building a team of raving fans, and you hear me talk about it all the time. Those raving fans have your back and those raving fans are going to make it so that you have time to spend on your business, so that you have time to for it. But I do know that it works. I implemented this methodology, or this philosophy, to great effect. That's it for this week. We'll talk to you again next week. Well, thanks for joining me today. Just a quick reminder if you were not on my email list, go to my website, rondadelaneycom, and there's a place there that you can subscribe, keep you up to date on all things people, gardening and leadership and also a reminder that the Raving Fans Society app is available on the Apple Store and the Google Store. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you again next week.