Presenting options sharpens your decision-making skills. As you move up, your success depends on your ability to navigate the gray areas where there’s not a clear right or wrong answer.
When you hit a roadblock and need to ask for guidance, avoid asking your manager, “Should I do A or B?” Instead, present a third option that shows off your own thinking. Lay out the pros and cons of the first two choices, then suggest a creative alternative or a mix of both.
Even if your manager sticks with the original plan, you avoid acting like a passive task-follower. You’re not just looking for instructions—you’re looking for the best possible results. These strategies give people reasons to start coming to you for your perspective. Doing the mental heavy lifting and valuing their time before asking for help builds trust with your manager and colleagues. They know you don’t just see obvious paths; you look for the most efficient and logical ones.
Put these approaches into practice.
Let’s look at practical ways to do the mental heavy lifting before seeking guidance.
"I used to go to my boss and ask, 'Should we use the expensive vendor or the slow one?' He would just get frustrated. Now, I suggest a third option: 'We could use the slow vendor for the bulk work and the expensive one for the final rush.' He stopped seeing me as a source of questions and started seeing me as a source of solutions."
DON’T present a simple "Yes/No" or "A/B" choice to your manager when you hit a roadblock.
DO present at least three options (A, B, and a creative C) to show you have explored the full logic of the problem.
"I was stuck on a software choice. Instead of just asking for a pick, I sent a three-column table showing cost, speed, and risk for three different tools. My manager chose my 'Option C' in thirty seconds because I had already done the analysis for her. She told me that saved her an hour of her own research."
DON’T drop a problem in your manager's lap without providing the data points they need to help you solve it.
DO explicitly lay out the pros and cons for every option you present to streamline their decision-making process.
"When our project hit a delay, I didn't ask 'What do I do now?' I said, 'We’re behind. I can work through the weekend (Option A), we can push the launch (Option B), or we can launch a "Lite" version now and patch the rest later (Option C).' Even though we chose Option B, my manager praised me for thinking like an owner rather than just an employee."
DON’T act like a passive task-follower who is merely waiting for the correct set of instructions.
DO position yourself as a strategic participant who is focused on finding the best possible results for the business.
"I used to pride myself on escalating problems quickly. I realized I was actually just offloading my stress onto my boss. I started a rule for myself: I can't ask a question until I have at least two potential answers ready. My relationship with leadership improved instantly because I stopped being 'the person with the problems.'"
DON’T ask for guidance before you have personally explored the gray areas and potential alternatives.
DO value your manager’s time by doing the preliminary thinking, ensuring that when you do ask for help, it is a high-level conversation.
"I suggested a creative alternative for a client's social media strategy that was ultimately rejected. However, a month later, that same manager invited me to a high-level brainstorm specifically because she 'liked how I looked for non-obvious paths.' The experiment didn't change the project, but it changed my career trajectory."
DON’T assume that if a manager ignores your suggested "Option C," your effort was wasted.
DO understand that the act of presenting options builds a long-term reputation as someone whose perspective is worth seeking.
The next time you’re stuck, can you brainstorm one “outside the box” solution or a “middle ground” option before you ask for help?
Integrate these professional strategies into your workflow—whether you’re refining your own work or mentoring your team or clients.