Create Leaders, Not Dependence

Have you ever wondered why your people keep bringing every problem to you?

What if the biggest obstacle to developing leaders is a leader who believes they always have to have the answer?

I consider myself a good problem solver.

In fact, I enjoy it.

There is something exciting about taking a difficult challenge, analyzing the situation, and finding a solution. For years, that was what I believed my job entailed. I enjoyed solving problems so much that I practiced it everywhere—at work, at home, anywhere and everywhere.

Eventually, I became so focused on solving problems that I stopped listening.

People would come to me with a concern, and before they had fully explained the situation, I was already formulating a solution. Sometimes I solved problems that didn’t even exist because I was more interested in finding answers than understanding the issue.

At the time, everything seemed to be working.

I was the boss.

I was paid to solve problems.

My people were happy because they could come to me and quickly get answers.

I felt validated because I was providing value.

And perhaps most importantly, I got solutions that I was comfortable with.

The problem was that I was creating dependents rather than leaders.

Without realizing it, I was building a culture where I needed to be involved in everything. Every decision flowed through me.

Every challenge found its way to my desk. Every answer required my input.

Then reality intervened.

I encountered problems I couldn’t solve on my own.

I needed to take vacations.

I needed people who could think independently and make decisions without me.

Yet I had unintentionally trained my team to depend on me rather than develop themselves.

I began to wonder why my people couldn’t solve problems on their own.

The truth was that I had helped create the problem.

What I should have been doing was helping people uncover and capitalize on their own strengths and abilities.

I should have been asking more questions and providing fewer answers.

I should have been coaching more and directing less.

I should have been helping people discover their own solutions instead of giving them mine.

John Buchan understood this when he said that leadership is not about putting greatness into people but helping them discover the greatness that is already there.

Every person on your team has talents, gifts, and potential waiting to be developed.

Our responsibility as leaders is not to solve every problem for them.

Our responsibility is to develop the confidence and competence necessary for them to solve problems themselves.

That requires patience.

It requires trust.

It requires allowing people to make mistakes, learn from them, and grow through them.

Because greatness is rarely discovered by following someone else’s path.

It is discovered by having the opportunity to find your own.

Great leaders don’t create followers.

They create more leaders.

Do your people bring every problem to you?

Are you developing problem solvers or creating dependence?

Where could you replace an answer with a question this week?

CHALLENGE
The next time someone brings you a problem, resist the urge to immediately provide the answer. Instead, ask a question that helps them think through the challenge themselves. You may solve fewer problems today, but you may develop a leader for tomorrow.