Tried a 'no questions' policy for a week and my inbox blew up

I told my team not to ask me anything for five days and to just make a call. Instead of fewer emails, I got 40 urgent messages about decisions they were scared to make. Has anyone found a better way to push people to own their work?

3 comments

3 Comments

hayden_craig952mo ago

Sounds like you went from zero to a hundred too fast. Instead of a total ban, try a rule where they have to write down their own proposed solution before hitting send. Like, "I think we should do X because of Y, please confirm." That forces them to think it through first. Most of the time you'll just reply "sounds good" and they'll get the confidence boost. It turns questions into drafts you can approve, which is way less work for you.

jakewhite2mo ago

Ever try that with a dog who just wants a treat, or is that just me and @davidkim?

davidkim2mo ago

Yeah, the "write down their own solution" trick that @hayden_craig95 mentioned is solid. I did something similar, telling my team to send me a quick "option A or B" with a short reason for each. It cut down the "what do I do" emails by like half because they had to do the thinking first.