As every manager knows, you have two types of people on your team: Problem Bringers and Problem Solvers.

Problem Bringers

Problem Bringers have a great talent for identifying anything that’s wrong and needs fixing. They spend a fair amount of time looking for issues to package up and drop right outside your door. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but we have a real problem here…” is how they call attention to what you or someone else needs to jump right on. They can tell you in detail what the issue is, how long it’s been going on, how bad it’s gotten and, most importantly, how much trouble it’s causing them.

While Problem Bringers have an eagle eye for recognizing problems, the one thing they want no part of is doing something about them. Just try asking, “So, how do you think we could fix that issue?” My experience is they’ll almost always do one of the following things:

• Get all huffy and point out that the problem is not their fault.
• Recommend you or someone else on the team take care of it.
• Begin cataloging all the other things they’re busy doing that prevent them from tackling the issue.
• Look confused, back away, and pretend they didn’t hear you.

Problem Solvers

On the other hand, Problem Solvers just take care of whatever needs fixing. When they identify a problem, they don’t waste time getting frustrated because no one is doing anything about it. Instead, they jump in and take ownership of it. You’ll often hear after the fact, “I had this roadblock pop up on the project, but here’s what I did about it. I hope that’s okay.” Are they kidding? Of course it’s okay—you wish all your employees did it that way. Even if they don’t know how to deal with something, they at least take the time to investigate and come up with some ideas for how to resolve the issue before they even tell you about it.

You know someone is a Problem Solver when you regularly find out about problems after the fact that he or she has resolved without any input from you.

You know someone is a Problem Bringer when your initial reaction to seeing him or her walking your way is a sinking feeling followed by the thought, “Oh, great. What now?”

It’s a good idea to assess where you are vs. where you need to be when it comes to your current team. Because surrounding yourself with one group and not the other can really make a difference in what you accomplish as a manager.

What experiences have you had managing Problem Bringers? Have you found a way to turn them into Problem Solvers? We’d love to hear your ideas.