It is broody hen time in our coop. That’s when something flips in a hen’s brain that lets her know now is the time to become a mama. The switch doesn’t flip in all hens, but when it does, I know it can be contagious. I’ve had as many as three broody hens at one time.

Once she becomes broody, a hen’s first step is to gather her clutch of eggs. During my first experience with a broody hen, I wasn’t armed with all the knowledge I have now, and I ended up with one hen sitting on more than 18 eggs. It was clear (to us, if not to her) that she couldn’t spread her wings wide enough to incubate all those eggs.

Armed with more knowledge and experience, I now limit each hen’s clutch of eggs to a dozen. Considering not all the eggs will hatch and that I’ll statistically end up with 50% roosters, I believe a dozen eggs will yield a reasonable number of pullets (hens under one year) to supplement my egg needs through the winter.

Once the hen has assembled her clutch, I will mark those eggs. Then, once a day, I’ll lift her up and remove any unmarked eggs. Depending on the hen, she will either protest with a little peck or attack me every time I pick her up.

During the three weeks it takes to incubate an egg, the hen does little more than sit on her nest. She leaves the nest occasionally to relieve herself, eat, and drink before returning to her eggs. When she is off her eggs, she keeps herself puffed up and emits an “urgent” clucking signifying that she wants to be left alone and is on a mission. Every morning, when I approach the coop with treats for the other hens and the rooster, she remains sitting on her nest. Sometimes, I throw her a few mealworms just so she doesn’t feel completely left out.

It must be a lonely existence, those three weeks sitting in near darkness to incubate the eggs. Yet she remains in place. This summer, we had two broody hens, and somewhere along the way, my first broody, “The Grey Mare,” switched clutches with “Priscilla,” who ended up hatching the first peeps and getting moved out of the coop with the initial clutch of eggs. Still, The Grey Mare waits, adding an extra two weeks.

I just wonder why the other hens, or Sven the rooster, don’t help her share the load. There are some other birds, including bald eagles, that share that responsibility between both parents. Perhaps since the other hens don’t have the desire to be mamas, they don’t think they need to help. Or maybe they have a scarcity mindset that says if we have more hens, we won’t get as many treats. Who knows, but from my point of view, it looks like a bunch of chickens trying to survive by fending for themselves.

I can’t help but think that our society is structured in a similar way. Someone gets an idea to do something, and the rest of us just stand by and say, “Well, good luck with that.” Or we begin to feel envious. Most of us have nearly limitless opportunities in this country to pursue what we want, become who we wish to be, and experience things that countless people around the world do not have the chance to experience. Yet, when we see someone trying to break away from the flock, our first reaction is often not supportive.

It takes a lot to follow your own path rather than the crowd. Starting a business is hard, and it’s challenging to say no when everyone else is saying yes. I hear stories of people doing it all the time. But those stories often include other people they assumed were there to support them on their journey but who instead tried to hold them back.

I just finished reading the book The Power of the Other, by Henry Cloud. He discusses the importance of what he calls Corner Four relationships—those that allow you to be vulnerable, ask for help, and support each other. What I found interesting is that many successful leaders have relied on Corner Four relationships that challenged, pushed, and encouraged them along the way.

When implementing EOS, I work with my clients to cultivate a strong and healthy leadership team. What does “healthy” look like? It means caring deeply for one another and for the company, and being willing to communicate what needs to be said when it should be said. It involves showing up as your authentic self and knowing that you won’t be judged for it. Essentially, I’m helping them develop Corner Four relationships within their leadership teams.

During the initial session with a team that recently began their EOS journey, we conducted a feedback exercise for each team member while building out the accountability chart. This was the first time the team had been required to provide honest feedback to one another, and they struggled with it. At the end of that first day, they told me they believed feedback should be given solely by the manager to each team member in private, rather than by the team collectively. I noted that my hope was for them to reach a point where they felt comfortable giving and receiving feedback as a team. Although it didn’t happen overnight, I observed a shift in the team over the course of a year. They began to engage in difficult conversations, focusing on the issues rather than the individuals involved. The result was a healthier team built on trust, working together to advance the company. Consequently, the company experienced growth for the first time in more than a decade.

As you consider your leadership team or the relationships in your life, are you allowing people to challenge you and call you out? Or are you trying to handle everything on your own? If you find yourself sitting on your eggs in the dark, you might want to look around and find someone to join you. I’m sure it will be more fun when you have someone sharing the workload.

If your team needs help getting healthy, reach out to me. I can introduce you to a process that is centered on getting your team members on the same page, rowing in the same direction, and working together.   

I used to say that my dogs were five for five in catching a rogue chicken, while my chickens were zero for five in surviving. It made sense. I had two bird hunting dogs trained to retrieve birds. Yes, I hated losing a chicken, but who can blame me or the dogs for those odds?

During a recent trip, my dog sitter texted me to say that there was a hole in my chicken netting and one of my chickens had escaped. Of course, my first thought was that I’m down another chicken (which really isn’t good because of the cost of eggs). Her subsequent text said she was able to retrieve the hen and get her back in the coop. Then I thought, oh good, JacX wasn’t up near the coop. Her next text stated that she managed to get JacX back to the house before she went to retrieve the hen.

What? How did she do that? Every time I’ve been near the chickens with the dogs, and a hen escaped, there was no way I could catch either of my dogs. I’ve lost my voice yelling at them to leave the chickens alone while my poor chicken tried to fly to save her life. And not once was I able to get either of my dogs to give up the retrieve and come back to me.

Yet, my dog sitter could do that.

I’ll be honest, I don’t even want to ask her how she did it because I fear it will reveal that my dog handling skills are not as good as I believe they are. So, I’m hiding from the truth, trying to accept my new reality.

How many of you reading this have had that same experience—the realization that there are others who can do something you pride yourself on being an expert at much better than you? Or if I delegate this task to someone else, what will I do with my time? Now, I realize that I can’t delegate my dog-wrangling activities to my dog sitter, but if I’m not as good at that as I think I am, what else am I pretending to be great at when, in reality, I’m not?

Being an effective leader means looking inward, acknowledging shortcomings, and delegating those items to others who are better suited. But, it is hard to let go, either due to a sense of obligation or a desire to do those things.

I was working with a client who had hit the ceiling. Their product was becoming outdated, resulting in fewer new opportunities and a plateau. The entire team was frustrated. They knew they needed to try something new, but the owner was so tied up in running the business that she didn’t have time to start exploring new products or new ways to attract new opportunities.

As the team worked through what was getting in the owner’s way, it became clear that she was hanging onto the role she had when the company was a quarter of its current revenue. She was trying to do all the employee reviews, hiring, and even the primary contact to many of their large customers.

So, I challenged her by asking, “What is the highest and best use of your time?” And then we sat in silence watching her work through the internal struggle. After what felt like an eternity, she said, “I need to let all of you do your job. I need to let go of all the control.” The team exhaled and said they were ready to take that responsibility.

But, it didn’t stop at the owner. I continue to challenge each member of the team, “what is the highest and best use of your time?” And following the lead of the owner, they began to acknowledge what they needed to do. By the end of the session, the entire team was in a completely different mindset, ready to delegate some of their tasks so they could go execute on their new priorities.

So, what about you? Are you hanging on to responsibilities in your business that would be better completed by someone else? Is that control keeping your organization from breaking through the ceiling? Are you finding it hard to accept that you must let go so you can elevate yourself to “unique ability”? If so, reach out to me. While this process might be challenging, on the other side is a new reality with a company that is poised for growth.

Dogs are creatures of habit. They like routines. In our house, the highlight of my dogs’ morning, other than breakfast, is going to see the chickens. But before that happens, they have to wait on me. After getting up, I work out. The dogs will lie on their beds, patiently waiting for me to finish. If Marlee, my 11-year-old lab, feels the workout has gone on a little too long, he will come up and start licking me or lie down on my mat. After my workout, I shower, get dressed, and head down the stairs. JacX will run down the steps ahead, announcing her excitement to all within earshot. This daily trip includes throwing the ball for Marlee as JacX chases after him with a training bumper in her mouth. We work our way up the garden trail, through the woods, and into the front field for more ball throwing and lots of smells to check out. I do believe it is one of the best parts of their day, second only to food.

A few months ago, we very unexpectedly lost Marlee. One day, he was running on the beach, and the next day, we had to put him down. I was out of town and had to say goodbye to him on FaceTime. When I returned home the next day, I felt the loss of my buddy as soon as I walked into the house.

The following day, after finishing my workout, JacX and I went up to see the chickens. JacX ran out of the garage with her hair up and started hunting for Marlee. When we reached the end of the patio, she stood there, waiting for him. Tears flowed as I watched her, giving her time to process this loss. Then, we slowly walked down the garden trail. It felt so empty without Marlee.

In my grief, I decided I no longer needed to make those morning trips. I could visit the chickens later in the day. And without Marlee to chase around, I figured JacX wouldn’t want to go anyway.

So, I changed my morning routine and didn’t think much about it. A few days later, in the kitchen after my workout, I saw JacX staring at me. I told her to go lie down, but she was having none of it.

Finally, looking at things from her perspective, I asked her, “Do you want to go see the chickens?” She started jumping around me.

What I realized at that moment was that while I was grieving the loss of Marlee, JacX was grieving too, and she needed the comfort of that routine in her life. So, we restarted our morning routine, although it isn’t the same. It still feels empty without him, but we’ve changed it slightly to feel more like “our” routine.

Since that day, I have started taking her up to see the chickens multiple times a day, and she gets so excited every time.

Often, as I walk down that garden path, I think of my clients and friends who have experienced significant loss in their lives, some much greater than the loss of a dog. Continuing to move forward is hard. Sometimes, it feels like something we can’t do. But I find the strength when I think about Marlee and all the joy he brought to my life. During those moments, I realize that it isn’t just about me: I need to think beyond myself, think about the people who are depending on me, those who love me and support me.

To all of you who have comforted me these past few months, thank you from the bottom of my heart. And to those experiencing grief and needing someone to listen, I am here, willing to listen with an open heart. 

With the rising prices of eggs and shortage of chickens, I have enjoyed special treatment from my neighbors and friends. Just last week, I received a meme of me looking like royalty.

But all this notoriety has also come with some challenges. Due to the risk of chicken theft, I have had to put my chickens under 24-hour security to ensure their safety.

I have always enjoyed being a chicken mama, but these changes have added a layer of complexity to my work. To make matters worse, ever since my chickens started trending on InstaLayer, their social media channel, they have been demanding more expensive food, additional scratch (“chicken crack”), and cleaner living quarters. Why they need their coop cleaned more frequently when all they do is poop in it, I don’t know, but that is what they want.

So here I am, working harder than ever and spending additional money to keep my chickens safe and happy, and yet I’m still not meeting my egg-laying needs. I’m frustrated and feel stuck, but I know quitting my egg-laying adventure isn’t the right choice.

My saving grace is that I’m not alone; there are other chicken-laying mamas (and daddies) in the same boat. We support each other. When I shared my frustration with Burkhart, a German chicken daddy I know, he wrote me a song to cheer me up. As I listened, I laughed and realized this challenging chapter would pass, and I should celebrate having chickens and eggs. (Feel free to listen if you want to laugh and enjoy some chicken humor.)

I wonder how many leaders have felt like I have in the past few years—working to keep their employees happy and engaged while dealing with the rising costs of nearly everything, from raw materials to transportation to labor. Running a business and solving all the company’s issues is complicated. It can wear down even the most optimistic person. I believe the benefit of having a leadership team is that the burden of running a business and making those difficult decisions doesn’t fall solely on the owner, CEO, or president. As a team, you can work together to identify potential solutions to a problem and ultimately find a solution you might not have seen on your own.

When I start an EOS session, as part of the check-in, I have each team member share one personal and one professional highlight since we last met. This helps them transition from working “in” the business to working “on” the business. But some of my team members will read their wins with their heads down or with no inflection and then continue with the rest of their check-in. Occasionally, someone will say they have no wins to share at all. Both of these scenarios fill me with sadness.

Most leadership teams are feeling the stress of running a business, whether it be a lack of profitability, losing a large contract, or the departure of a key employee. If a team is going to endure that stress, it is important to stop and celebrate the wins when they happen.

I am a very achievement-oriented person. I love striving to achieve my goals, and once I do, I just keep striving for more. It is really hard for me to slow down and savor my wins. So I understand the mindset that many leaders have. However, I have also learned that slowing down and appreciating the wins allows me to be present and grateful for where I am today.

If you find yourself mired in all the challenges of running your business, I’d encourage you to stop and look at what is going well, and celebrate it with your team. If you are the type of person who struggles with that, think about the people around you. Could they benefit from celebrating their wins? And if that doesn’t help, perhaps listening to a little chicken song could serve as a reminder that there’s plenty to celebrate in your life.

If the challenges still feel overwhelming, reach out to me. I can introduce some tools to help you get a grip on your business.

The dark days of winter. This time of year is hard, especially with all the Christmas lights down. I know we are gaining on the sunlight, but we still have more than five months until the summer solstice. This season also means my hens aren’t laying many eggs. It has been two weeks since my last egg. As frequent readers know, it takes a lot of work to clean the coop, feed the hens, refill their water container, give them treats, put hats on them, and not get any eggs. The lack of egg production has forced me to buy eggs at the grocery store. I paid $10.49 for a dozen free-range eggs. When did the price of eggs get so high?

Here I am, working really hard to care for my hens, and they aren’t doing their jobs. So I turned to my chicken coach for advice. My first question was, “Are your chickens laying right now?” Her response was, “Yes, we’re getting 18-20 eggs per day.” How she ended up with so many chickens, I have no idea, but I’ve learned not to ask someone how many chickens they have. It’s one of those seemingly easy questions that can be surprisingly difficult to answer.

But her answer to the question of egg-laying made me realize I could definitely do something to get my ladies to start laying. My chicken coach provided lots of resources and ideas on what she has been doing to ensure egg production throughout the winter. I immediately put her ideas into action, and slowly egg production has begun to increase. 

Here’s the thing. Had I not sought outside advice, I would have made up my own story about what was going on with my hens. I’d rely on what I thought I remembered from the last time this happened or search the web for the best remedy. But talking to someone who knows me, my hens, and all things chickens was the fastest way to identify the root cause and start addressing the problem. 

As I teach my clients, you can’t coach yourself from inside a bottle. You receive much more valuable help when you bring in an outside perspective from someone who understands you. However, you must invest in that relationship if you want that person to understand your situation and the people involved. That’s the only way to ensure that the advice they offer you remains relevant.

A few months ago, I received an email from a CEO about an issue with a leadership team member. This team member had a complete breakdown during a meeting. He was yelling, swearing, and carrying on. The CEO was quite concerned about the team member and the impact his behavior would have on the team and possibly the organization. Having spent time with the team during several EOS sessions, I had my own perspective on this person and some of the behaviors I had observed. We talked through the issue and ultimately agreed that there must have been something outside of the business that caused his severe reaction. 

Rather than discipline the team member for his behavior, the CEO decided to meet one-on-one to find out what was going on. It turned out that some stressors at home were spilling into his work. Together, they talked through some techniques the team member could use when he started to feel that his emotions were getting the best of him. 

This is exactly what I believe is so powerful about the work I have the privilege of doing. Spending time with leadership teams allows me to get to know the team and individual team members along with the business and the challenges they face. All of this gives me the context and background to truly coach them to become their best. As one of my clients said, “You are hard on us when we need it. But you’re also there to share in our celebrations.” 

As you start this new year and consider everything you want to accomplish, do you have the right structure to support achieving those things? Do you have the right coach to guide you through the obstacles you may face? If you answered no to either of these questions, please reach out to me. I can help you and your leadership team get more out of your business than you could ever imagine. 

Our “Little Gray” hen hatched out five peeps in late June.  Unfortunately, one of them had a bad leg, and while she could hop around, she couldn’t roost. After about eight weeks, we had to move her on to greener pastures.  Of the remaining youngsters, it appears we have at least three roosters.  About four weeks ago, I headed up to the coop for the weekly cleaning, and I found one of those cockerels (young roosters) hanging out in the coop.  I kicked him out so I could clean, and as he ran down the ramp, all the other chickens started chasing him and pecking at him.  When I intervened, he was crammed up in the corner of the run.  I picked him up and found that he was pecked raw and nearly lifeless.

At this point, I decided he needed to be moved to the smaller coop just 20 feet from where I stood.  All I needed to do was open the coop gate, walk the 20 feet to the other coop, open that gate, and put him inside.  But this simple journey became a bit of an obstacle course, because I had two very interested retrievers who wanted to help.  Now, if I had expected to be handling chickens and moving them from one coop to another, I wouldn’t have brought the dogs, but this was the situation I found myself in.

So, I stood there, contemplated the situation, and did what anyone would: I took a selfie.  No, I did.  But then I realized I was stuck.  There was no way I would be able to handle this situation alone.  I could either set the cockerel down and take the dogs up to the house, risking further attacks on the cockerel, or I could phone a friend.  So I called Mike and asked for his help.  He came up and was able to pull the dogs away so I could move the injured cockerel to the other coop.

I don’t know why all the chickens were picking on that particular cockerel.  Even his three “hatch-mates” chased him around.  That is one of the things I don’t like about chickens.  They can be mean.  They peck at each other. They don’t support each other.  They are the antithesis of how I encourage my leadership teams to behave.  And honestly, it makes me a little sad.  I know it’s just in their chicken DNA, but why must they do that?

When implementing EOS, I work with the leadership teams to get them healthy.  That means having uncomfortable conversations with one another, calling people out if they aren’t living by their core values, holding each other accountable, and caring so much about the company and its people that they will enter danger.

In his book Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni defines a team as a group of people who share common goals and the responsibilities and rewards of achieving them. However, according to Lencioni, not every group of people in an organization is really a team. They might have the same manager or work in the same department, but that doesn’t make them a team.

When implementing EOS, I work closely with an organization’s leaders, guiding them to become a true team. For them to succeed, they must embrace collaboration, accountability, and unity. My work is most rewarding when I witness this transformation—watching a group of individuals embark on their EOS journey and evolve into a cohesive, high-performing team.

I see leaders lean into the discomfort of holding each other accountable, emerging stronger and more united. They align around a shared vision, celebrate their wins together, and provide unwavering support during challenging times. It’s a privilege to witness teams navigate failures, rebuild together, and grow even stronger. I’ve also seen team members face personal struggles only to be lifted up by the care and strength of their team.

These moments of resilience, trust, and growth are what make my work so fulfilling. Watching leaders transform not just their businesses but also their relationships and personal lives is a constant reminder of the power of teamwork and shared vision.

Celebrating and supporting each other creates a team that is determined to succeed.  As Lencioni says in his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (the main book that preceded the book mentioned above), “A healthy team can dominate any industry, at any time, against any competition.”  If you sense your team isn’t as healthy as it could be, and you need help getting it where you want it to be, please get in touch with me.  Together, we can transform your flock of leaders pecking at each other into a team of leaders who are working together toward a common vision.

A few days ago I made my morning walk up to the chickens with the dogs.  As I approached the gate, I saw Sven, our rooster, standing with his back to the gate in what appeared to be a protective stance.  Sven is 2 years old and to date hasn’t been aggressive with me or the other hens.  My first thought was that perhaps that “switch” had flipped in his head and he was ready to fight.  I opened the gate and asked him if he was planning on moving.  As I did, I realized his spur was caught in the chicken netting and he was stuck.  He tried to free himself, but he couldn’t. He was so nervous with me so close that he kept trying to get away, making the situation worse.

I walked back to the house to get some snips and returned to the gate.  I was hoping I could cut the netting from under the gate, but that didn’t work. So, I slowly eased myself into the coop and crouched down next to him, within about 12 inches.  He stood completely still.

Slowly, I started to cut away the netting around his spur.  After four cuts, he was able to free himself and run away.  I watched him for a bit to make sure he wasn’t injured. He looked OK, but he wasn’t quite as “cocky” as he normally is.

I walked back to the house feeling pretty good about myself and saving my rooster.  But then I started to think about him.  He’d been stuck and had to succumb to my help in order to get free.  I’m sure that was hard for him at some deep chicken level.

I wonder, if I had been in his shoes, could I have stood there and waited to be cut free?  Knowing myself, I would have struggled for a long time before I actually asked for help.  I believe I am not alone –  a lot of people have that same challenge. It can be humbling and sometimes demoralizing to admit we can’t do it alone.

I have always been the person who is willing to step in and help others, but when I need someone to lean on, it is very difficult for me to admit it and even more difficult to actually ask for help.

However, what I have learned in the past year is that my relationships with my clients, my friends and my family are deeper when I share what is going on in my life, including areas where I’m struggling and need help.  It has taken me a long time to get to the point where I could do that, much less write about it.  A wise person in my life once told me, “You can’t truly be of service to others until you allow others to serve you.”

When you look at yourself and the people around you, are you paying attention to what is going on in their lives?  Are you creating an environment where people are comfortable asking for help?  Are you slowing down and really connecting or are you double booked, often cancelling your one-on-ones for things that seem more urgent in the moment?

Looking inward, are you allowing others to help you, or are you trying to project the image of someone who has it all together? If this is hard for you, I understand.  But developing deep, meaningful relationships requires honesty and vulnerability.

Still not convinced?  Research shows that companies with a culture of belonging and caring have less turnover, higher productivity and are more profitable.  Sounds like a win-win proposition!  If you see the value but aren’t sure how to start, please reach out to me.  I’m here to listen and support you on this journey.

During a recent trip to Europe, I had a chance to meet up with our German friends and travel with them through Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic and Austria. They had visited us last summer and left inspired to get chickens. So, last October, Burkhart went to work building his chicken coop and eventually got his first chickens in May of this year. He had a lot of adventures as he began his journey to become Chicken Daddy, including outsmarting a clever chicken who learned how to escape the coop, dealing with broody hens and setting up the coop so the hens would lay eggs in the coop and not in random places on their property. During our recent travels, I shared some of the things I’ve learned in an effort to reduce his steep learning curve. After all the help I received from my chicken coach and the chicken whisperer, it felt good to help another aspiring chicken dad on his egg-laying journey.

The fact is there are always people who want to help others be successful in their endeavors, whether it be around raising chickens, traveling through Europe or running a business.

In the work I do, I have the privilege to walk alongside business owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs and support them as they navigate the challenges of running a business. Running a business is hard work. It requires dedication, grit and, often, sacrifice of time and personal resources. Many business owners feel they are alone in facing the challenges of running a business – they can’t share those issues with their employees, friends or even family.

About five years ago, I was coaching a few employees of a local business. During that time, I developed a great working relationship with the CEO. About two years ago during a meeting with this CEO, he started sharing all he was doing with his management team. When he finished, I asked, “Do you feel the weight of running this business squarely on your shoulders?” He took a deep breath and said, “Yes, and it is exhausting.” I suggested that a peer advisory group such as Vistage would allow him to interact with other business owners who could help him navigate some of the challenges he was facing. I introduced him to a Vistage chair, and he joined the group. A year later, he called me up and said, “I see the value of Vistage for me. Now, I need an operating system for the company. Let’s talk about EOS.”

A year into their EOS journey, the leadership team has really embraced EOS and the changes it has brought about. When I asked a leadership team member to name the greatest impact that EOS has had on the company, he said, “Honestly, it is the CEO. With clarity of vision and having the right accountability chart, he is letting go and allowing us to run our departments, which is freeing him up to do what he is really good at.”

So, let me ask you: Do you have a coach who is going to help you achieve your full potential? Are you part of a peer advisory group that can help you solve issues in your business while maintaining confidentiality? Do you have a business operating system that will allow you and your company to achieve your full potential? If not, please reach out to me. Together, we can find the best resources to support you on your journey.

Have you heard the phrase, “Well, you’re no spring chicken?” As you can imagine, the subtext is that chickens are typically born in spring.  For me, that means at least one of my chickens is going to be broody.  In case you are a chicken novice, a “broody” hen wants to gather a clutch of eggs, incubate them and ultimately hatch them. The first step in this “broodiness” is gathering eggs to sit on until she has an appropriate number in her clutch.

In my experience, that “appropriate” number in a clutch can exceed 12 eggs. So we intervene. Considering the size of my coop and the number of potential broody hens, we have settled on six eggs being an ideal clutch size.  Once a hen goes broody, we mark the designated eggs and then, on a daily basis, lift the broody hen up and remove all unmarked eggs from her clutch.  Depending on the hen, her acceptance of this daily handling can vary from a quiet “growl” to all-out pecking at the handler.  Other than occasionally leaving the coop to eat and poop, she will sit on her eggs for three weeks.

A few days prior to the expected egg-hatching date, we relocate her and her eggs to a separate coop.  Every morning, I check on her.  Her typical response is to puff up her feathers and lowly growl at me.  But inevitably that changes once her peeps arrive.  At some point she’ll puff up even more, and her growling will become much more aggressive.  That is the clue to listen for the first of “the peeps.”  The hen hovers over her brood until all the peeps have hatched.

Once her brood is complete, she will start to parade them outside the coop.  She teaches them how to eat, pulling food out of the feeder and putting it on the ground for the peeps.  She will show them how to peck at the grass looking for bugs.  During that time, her protective nature moves into high gear.  If she feels threatened by me, she will charge at me with all her feathers fanned out, keeping herself between me and her peeps.  Over the next week as her peeps become more self-sufficient, her aggression will mellow out a bit.  She’ll still make her motherly clucking noises to alert her peeps of potential threat, but if I need to enter the coop to refresh the food or water, she won’t charge me.

As I reflect on a hen’s behavior through these stages, it is apparent that her behavior changes with the needs of her clutch.  For a whole host of reasons, I’m not going to compare the stages of raising peeps to the stages of raising humans.  However, I am going to compare them to the care and development of employees.

Every organization needs people to achieve its vision.  There is no way around this.  Yes, the type of work we need done may change over time, but we need people.  As humans, we are unique beings who are constantly growing and (we hope) evolving.  As such, every team member is at a different stage in their professional and personal development.  Some employees come into the organization with a lot of knowledge but not a lot of experience in the position they were hired to fill.  Some employees have amazing talent but are missing some of the soft skills needed to thrive in their position.  And some employees want to grow their skills in order to advance their careers.  Regardless of where each of your team members are, they all need a manager who cares for them and wants to help them develop.

Have you ever stopped to consider what stage your employees are in and what they need from you to be successful? When they come to you with an issue, are you solving the issue for them or taking the time to help them solve it for themselves?

I don’t know about you, but when someone comes to me with an issue, I struggle with the temptation to jump in and solve it for them. As I like to say, I’m really good at solving other people’s problems. Mine, not so much.

We love to solve other people’s problems for various reasons.  One reason is that it takes time to coach someone through finding the solution for themselves. Another reason, if we are honest with ourselves, is we like to be the hero. But when we solve the problem for another person, we prevent them from finding their own solution and ultimately owning that solution. This robs them of the opportunity to do the hard work, come up with the right solution and grow in confidence once they solve the issue.

Depending on the stage the employee is in, they may need more or less guidance to find the right solution.  But, regardless of the stage they are in, this guidance needs to come in the form of questions, not directives.  Instead of giving answers, perhaps ask, “How could you solve this issue?” Or “What are some solutions to this problem?” If they don’t know, ask them, “What are some options?” Or, “If someone came to you with this issue, what would you suggest?”

Then keep asking them, “and what else?” until you feel they have enough options to consider.  Then ask, “Which of these solutions would yield the best result?” and maybe, “What makes you say that?”  The magic is in letting them work through the issue while you prompt them with questions along the way.

A few years ago, I was on a call with one of my clients.  She was frustrated with the business and felt she needed a new business model.  I began asking her questions about what made her feel that way, what issues she saw, what changes she could make.  Over the course of an hour, by addressing these questions, she was able to identify changes she needed to make.  At the end of the conversation, she thanked me for helping her solve her problem. I told her all I did was ask questions and she identified the changes all on her own.  She was actually surprised when she realized I hadn’t made a single suggestion.  The conversation made her feel more confident in her decision-making skills.

After the call, I thought more about my part of the conversation.  I realized asking questions rather than telling her what to do was hard work.  I felt the internal struggle between telling her how I thought she should run her business and slowing down to listen to her and ask thoughtful questions to help her make the right decisions for her business. The truth is – it isn’t my business, and I couldn’t possibly know what the right business model should be for her. For me to think otherwise is just arrogance on my part.

How about you?  Are you playing the hero in your employee’s story? Or are you allowing them to grow in confidence by asking insightful questions?  If you need some coaching on how to ask insightful questions, please reach out to me. I won’t solve the issue for you, but I will ask thought-provoking questions and share some resources that have helped me.