WEBVTT

1
00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:07.000
<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

2
00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:11.119
<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building, and Gola giving.

3
00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:15.000
<v Speaker 1>This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host

4
00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:18.039
<v Speaker 1>Paul Fellovledo.

5
00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:25.079
<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.

6
00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:29.719
<v Speaker 2>It's episode six point fifty three. Leadership has a strange

7
00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:34.240
<v Speaker 2>trap hidden inside it. The better you are at solving problems,

8
00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:38.119
<v Speaker 2>the more problems people bring to you. At first, it

9
00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:41.520
<v Speaker 2>feels like a compliment. Your team trusts you, they rely

10
00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:45.079
<v Speaker 2>on your experience, they believe you have the answers. And

11
00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:49.119
<v Speaker 2>then one day you realize something uncomfortable. You're not leading

12
00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:53.520
<v Speaker 2>a team anymore. You're running a help desk. Every issue,

13
00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:58.079
<v Speaker 2>every decision, every small obstacle flows upward to your desk.

14
00:00:58.759 --> 00:01:03.600
<v Speaker 2>Someone's computer problem, someone's schedule and conflict, a disagreement between

15
00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:07.879
<v Speaker 2>two employees, a question about a policy that already exists

16
00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:11.480
<v Speaker 2>in the handbook. You spend your day putting out fires

17
00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:15.439
<v Speaker 2>that should never have reached you. If that sounds familiar,

18
00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:20.680
<v Speaker 2>there is an important leadership shift waiting for you. Your

19
00:01:20.760 --> 00:01:24.359
<v Speaker 2>job is not to solve every problem. Your job is

20
00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:28.480
<v Speaker 2>to build a team that solves its own problems. Let's

21
00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:32.040
<v Speaker 2>talk about how that actually works. First, you have to

22
00:01:32.120 --> 00:01:35.920
<v Speaker 2>stop being the fastest problem solver in the room. This

23
00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:39.920
<v Speaker 2>is hard for experienced leaders. When someone brings you a problem,

24
00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:43.200
<v Speaker 2>your instinct is to fix it immediately. You know the

25
00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:45.640
<v Speaker 2>answer and you can resolve it in thirty seconds. But

26
00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:49.439
<v Speaker 2>every time you do that, you accidentally train your team

27
00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:53.079
<v Speaker 2>to bring you the next problem too. Speed feels productive,

28
00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:57.959
<v Speaker 2>in reality, it creates dependence. When someone walks into your

29
00:01:57.959 --> 00:02:02.000
<v Speaker 2>office with a problem, try this simple response. Instead, ask

30
00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:06.079
<v Speaker 2>them one question, what do you think we should do now?

31
00:02:06.680 --> 00:02:10.960
<v Speaker 2>The conversation changes. Instead of handing the problem upward, they

32
00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.520
<v Speaker 2>start thinking about it themselves. They might pause, they might

33
00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:19.039
<v Speaker 2>struggle for a moment. That silence is actually leadership development

34
00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:26.400
<v Speaker 2>happening in real time. Second, normalize problem ownership. Too many

35
00:02:26.520 --> 00:02:32.000
<v Speaker 2>organizations teach employees to escalate issues immediately. The culture becomes

36
00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:36.199
<v Speaker 2>take it to the boss. That culture kills initiative. Instead,

37
00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:40.120
<v Speaker 2>build a rule that problems should be worked at the

38
00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:44.199
<v Speaker 2>lowest possible level before they move upward. Encourage your team

39
00:02:44.759 --> 00:02:49.120
<v Speaker 2>to talk to each other first. Encourage them to try solutions.

40
00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:55.879
<v Speaker 2>Encourage them to collaborate before escalation becomes necessary. When employees

41
00:02:55.960 --> 00:02:58.919
<v Speaker 2>know they are expected to think first, and escalate. Second,

42
00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:05.400
<v Speaker 2>something powerful happens the team becomes smarter. Third, give people

43
00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:09.599
<v Speaker 2>permission to make small mistakes. A team cannot solve its

44
00:03:09.639 --> 00:03:13.240
<v Speaker 2>own problems if they're terrified of getting it wrong. If

45
00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:17.639
<v Speaker 2>every decision carries the risk of punishment, people will avoid

46
00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:22.000
<v Speaker 2>decisions entirely. They will push everything upward to leadership because

47
00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:26.280
<v Speaker 2>it feels safer. You have to send a different message.

48
00:03:26.439 --> 00:03:30.039
<v Speaker 2>It's okay to make a decision. It's okay to experiment.

49
00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:32.520
<v Speaker 2>It's ok to try something that does not work the

50
00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:39.439
<v Speaker 2>first time. A healthy team learns through action, not hesitation. Fourth,

51
00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:44.199
<v Speaker 2>teach the difference between problems in decisions. This sounds simple,

52
00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:48.919
<v Speaker 2>but it changes everything. Many issues brought to leaders are

53
00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:52.039
<v Speaker 2>not actually problems. They are decisions waiting to be made.

54
00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:55.919
<v Speaker 2>For example, someone might say, we have a scheduling issue

55
00:03:56.039 --> 00:03:59.680
<v Speaker 2>that sounds like a problem. Often it simply means to

56
00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.240
<v Speaker 2>options exist and someone needs to choose one. Leaders who

57
00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:08.599
<v Speaker 2>teach their teams how to recognize decisions create momentum. Instead

58
00:04:08.599 --> 00:04:13.360
<v Speaker 2>of waiting for instructions, employees start choosing the best available path.

59
00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:19.600
<v Speaker 2>Fifth reward initiative loudly when someone solves a problem without

60
00:04:19.639 --> 00:04:23.319
<v Speaker 2>your involvement, celebrate it, mention it in a meeting, send

61
00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:29.199
<v Speaker 2>a quick message thanking them for stepping up. Recognition reinforces behavior.

62
00:04:29.720 --> 00:04:34.079
<v Speaker 2>If employees see initiative being praised, they start looking for

63
00:04:34.199 --> 00:04:38.439
<v Speaker 2>opportunities to demonstrate it. The goal is simple. You want

64
00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:40.879
<v Speaker 2>a team that does not freeze when something goes wrong.

65
00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:43.199
<v Speaker 2>You want a team that looks at a challenge and says,

66
00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:48.079
<v Speaker 2>let's figure this out. Because here's the truth about leadership

67
00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:51.560
<v Speaker 2>that many people learn the hard way. If your organization

68
00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:55.560
<v Speaker 2>depends on you for every solution, your leadership sealing is

69
00:04:55.639 --> 00:05:00.600
<v Speaker 2>extremely low. You become the bottleneck. Growth slows down, innovation

70
00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:05.720
<v Speaker 2>slows down, decisions take longer, and stress rises. On the

71
00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:09.000
<v Speaker 2>other hand, when you build a team that thinks, collaborates,

72
00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:14.399
<v Speaker 2>and solves problems together, everything starts to accelerate. Your organization

73
00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:19.480
<v Speaker 2>becomes stronger than any single leader. So let me leave

74
00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:23.079
<v Speaker 2>you with one practical challenge today. The next time someone

75
00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:28.360
<v Speaker 2>brings you a problem, resist the urge to immediately solve it. Instead,

76
00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:32.720
<v Speaker 2>ask three questions, what do you think the real problem is?

77
00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:38.199
<v Speaker 2>What options have you considered? What solution would you try first?

78
00:05:38.519 --> 00:05:43.680
<v Speaker 2>Those three questions turn a complaint into a leadership conversation.

79
00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:49.720
<v Speaker 2>They also turn employees into problem solvers. Over time, something

80
00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:53.920
<v Speaker 2>remarkable starts to happen. People stop coming to you with

81
00:05:54.120 --> 00:05:58.040
<v Speaker 2>every little issue. They start coming to you with solutions.

82
00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:01.079
<v Speaker 2>And that is the moment you know your leadership is working.

83
00:06:01.160 --> 00:06:04.519
<v Speaker 2>Because the strongest teams are not the ones with the

84
00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:08.800
<v Speaker 2>smartest leader. The strongest teams are the ones where everyone

85
00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:16.959
<v Speaker 2>is thinking. So if you want to become a stronger leader,

86
00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:22.720
<v Speaker 2>start by asking better questions. Start by giving your team

87
00:06:22.839 --> 00:06:28.759
<v Speaker 2>space to think, decide, and solve. The organizations that move

88
00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:32.600
<v Speaker 2>fastest are not the ones with leaders who have all

89
00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:36.199
<v Speaker 2>the answers. They are the ones where everyone is thinking

90
00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:42.079
<v Speaker 2>and everyone is stepping forward. This has been the seven

91
00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:45.279
<v Speaker 2>minute Leadership podcast, and I thank you for listening.

92
00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:50.839
<v Speaker 1>For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.