5 Leadership Fails that Erode Your Leadership Integrity: #1 Solving all your teams problems.

Yes, it's true. You need to STOP solving problems for your team. It's interfering with their ability to take ownership of their jobs. Y

ou do it in subtle ways. A direct report asks for advice, you give it without thinking.  A co-worker comes to you with a problem, you solve it second-nature.  When an employee’s personal life interferes with their job performance, how much empathetic leniency do you offer and for how long? 

In each of these problem scenarios, our natural response is to jump to a quick solution. You tell the direct report what to do. You explain to the co-worker how to fix it. You are empathetic until … likely until other workers notice that one worker has to do less work than the others, and now you have an even bigger problem on your hands. 

You might think you are helping and solving problems. While you are solving problems, you are also playing a risky game with ownership: namely, you are taking ownership away from your team members. You are solving their problem for them. Inevitably, this will establish a confusing pattern of ownership confusion.

Is that really the role of leadership? 

Can your workers find solutions to their own problems? If they can’t, then why are they on your team? (See what I am saying…) 

This isn't the kind of leadership pattern you want to establish. A system where your day is filled with solving other people’s problems? If you keep doing this, people will keep bringing you their problems. 

Also, consider what this says to your employees: “I fix problems, you don’t have to.” You have taken ownership away from those who are supposed to own it. Do you really want that extra work? Do you really want your team dependent on you for that? Seems awfully inefficient. 

Being the primary problem solver in your office is a common form of micro-management.

The alternative is to develop a system where people learn to solve their own problems. A system where they OWN their jobs, and you, as the leader, reinforce their ownership. 

Profound Leaders stop solving problems and focus on coaching others to find solutions for themselves. You are coaching your team to own their work.

Coaching is your work…solving problems is theirs. 

Go. Be. Profound.