"No, I can't do that" mindset (from a team member)

Topic for this week's blog January 29, 2010

The "No, I can't do that" mindset coming from employees

I've always tried to turn problem situations into opportunities and sometimes use creative alternatives. My wife Cammie and I were out for the evening and when heading home we decided to stop and get some ice cream at a fast food restaurant near our home. I wanted to get a cup of ice to pour into my warm Diet Coke in the car. As we approached the counter, I asked if I could get a cup of ice and the girl behind the counter replied “Sorry, I can't do that.” I smiled and kindly but firmly replied, “Yes, I am sure you can. She gave in and proceeded to get me a cup of ice. No doubt she had a “no, I can't” mind-set that needed to be reprogrammed.
It started me thinking about all of the times I've run across a team member who was trained or deduced to a “no, I can’t do that” mindset from their manager, boss, or leader. You know, the kind of leader they work for who at some point had instructed them that they were to say “no, we can't” to certain requests.
I believe that many team members, after being armed with this new direction, enjoy telling the guest “no, we can't do that”, and as a result the guest feels uncomfortable and quite possibly will NEVER return.
1) Have you seen this? 2) Do you feel the same way that I do about this problem? 3) Let's discuss some leadership techniques to accomplish the same goal, but with a positive outcome.

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