Speaking to what doesn’t feel right—without rushing to solve it—is one of the most powerful leadership moves. When a leader solves problems, they communicate “you’re not capable.” When they simply name the issue, the team creates solutions they’re actually aligned to execute.
“If you move to solve the problem then what you’re doing is you’re telling everybody that they can’t solve the problem, that they’re not capable, that you’re necessary.”
This requires dropping the ego of being necessary, of needing to be valuable. The Taoists said the best leader is one nobody even notices. Your job is to set criteria for what a good solution looks like, then let people own the path there.
This works with kids too: “Hey, I’m nagging and it feels terrible. How do we get the house clean without me nagging?” They create their own solution—one they’ll actually follow.