Just last week I heard it again. You’ve likely heard this. Maybe you’ve even said it. Perhaps the most dangerous piece of business advice. “Don’t bring problems,” the saying goes, “without bringing solutions.”

I don’t like it. Here’s why.

Wine and Cheese

This advice makes people keep secrets from their leadership. And, unlike wine and cheese, bad news never gets better with age. When people have to find solutions first, they wait. They work — often alone and in silence — to figure out how they’re going to handle a situation. They forego the power of the team’s collective experience and wisdom. They rely solely on their own knowledge, ideas, and abilities. How can that be good for our business?

Running on Empty

Imagine that you’re driving across country, and you have let your oldest child drive. She hasn’t been driving for long, and the experience will be good for her. She notices that the car is low on fuel. She’s not sure where the next exit is or even how much longer she can drive before the car runs out of gas entirely. What do you want her to do? Stay silent while she figures it out? Or let you know?

Easy answer.

Power of the Team

The same holds true in business and leadership. The leadership likely has more experience. At least, they have a different, wider view of the possible solutions. By bringing your boss into the situation early, you get to access their knowledge and wisdom. Asking for help should be seen as a sign of wisdom, not weakness.

A classic HBR article, published in the 1970s, suggests that managers not allow their people to dump their problems on them. And that advice continues to be great wisdom.

You should bring your leader your problems, discuss them, review your options and then pick those problems back up again on your way out of the meeting. The problems continue to be yours to solve. You now have the value of your manager’s wisdom in solving them.

Managing Up

If you’re unsure how your boss will react to this approach, you should ask first. Personally, I like leading questions. Something like, “Hey boss, I’ve encountered a situation that I’ve never seen before and I’m not sure what to do. Do you want to know about it now? Or should I figure it out on my own before we discuss it?”

A more subtle approach might be, “Hey boss, I don’t need your help yet. I just want you to know about something that I’ve encountered. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be able to figure it out, and would appreciate getting your perspective since I haven’t been able to craft a solution yet.”

Empowering Your Team

If you’re the leader, decide how you’d like your team to handle the unexpected. Clearly communicate your expectations. And then, stay true to your word. If they bring you problems without solutions, coach and guide them to the solution. Resist the urge to simply tell them what to do. If you let them figure it out, give them ideas and constructs to use, then they may not need to come to you as often.

Ultimately, the team will build out the muscle of asking for help, early and often. Problems will be addressed in their infancy, when they are easier to solve and require fewer resources.