Why Great Leaders Solve Problems Immediately, Not Later

A problem comes up on Monday. It is uncomfortable, so it waits. By Friday it has gotten bigger, and two weeks later the person who raised it has stopped bringing things to you. Or worse, you hear that an attorney has called. Nothing about that problem got easier because you delayed it.

This is the last of three episodes on the fifteen things great leaders do. The first ten covered safety to speak up, decisions, written expectations, challenging thinking, accountability, leading by example, measuring performance, continuous feedback, talent allocation and asking questions. Today's five are about what a leader does once the problem is already in the room, and about the kind of place you build around it.

Why should you solve problems immediately instead of putting them off?

Number eleven is solve problems and avoid procrastination. I once worked with a CFO who said something I have never forgotten: if it is a hard decision today, it is going to be a hard decision thirty days from now. The difficulty does not shrink while you wait. The only thing that changes is how long your team has been waiting on you.

Procrastination is what kills a culture. People raise an issue and hear nothing for weeks. They bring up something delicate with their boss and nothing happens. Eventually they decide it is not worth raising anything. Don't be the weight dragging everyone down.

Here is the process I teach:

1. Get in the room and put the facts on the table. Gather the people who know what happened.
2. Find the cause. Ask what happened and what is creating this problem. Problems are usually symptoms of something deeper.
3. Build the solutions. Once you know the causes, ask what you can do about each one.
4. Assign the work. Decide who is going to do each task, then move on to the next problem.

Notice that none of those steps is “find out who messed up.” Sometimes it really is a person. But in my experience, about 90% of the time the system or the process is what failed. If you hunt for the culprit, people hide problems. If you hunt for the cause, people bring them to you early, which is exactly what you want.

And you do not need to have all the answers. You need to create an environment where problems get tackled quickly, you ask good questions, and the team helps you diagnose and solve.

Does a leader really need to bring positive energy?

Number twelve is bring positive energy and attitude. I do not mean you have to be a cheerleader or bubbly and smiling twenty-four hours a day. I mean that when there is an issue, your posture is, “We can do this. We will find the answer. We will figure out how to fix it.”

Think about the opposite. A leader walks in and says, “This is probably going to be terrible. I am not sure we should be doing this.” That is a very difficult place to be excited or passionate about moving anything forward. People take their emotional cues from the person at the top, whether the leader meant to send a signal or not.

It is a choice, not a personality type. If you are not naturally upbeat, you may have to push yourself on it, because you are creating the culture. And I will say it plainly: culture trumps everything. When you build a place where people love to work, use their gifts and show up trying to make things better, your competitor down the street is going to lose.

How can a leader teach without lecturing?

Number thirteen is be a teacher. You do not need a teaching degree. But a lot of people will tell you their leaders used to teach and stopped. The best leaders stay curious and keep learning themselves, and they pass on what they know.

Teaching starts with questions, which loops back to last week. When someone is struggling, ask what is going on and let them explain how they approach the work. As they talk you will often find something they were never taught or trained on. Then you can ask, “Would you like to hear how I have handled this?” If they say yes, you can share what you learned, what worked, and what tools you used.

Say a team member is working in a spreadsheet and getting stuck. Ask them to walk you through how they look at it. Then offer, “Have you ever looked at this column?” Questions first, experience second, and always with permission. Our job is to create the environment where they can crush it, and sometimes that means speaking into their position with some training.

Why do relationships matter in business?

Number fourteen is invest in relationships. John Maxwell says, “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” People are the number one resource in your department and your organization, and the best places to work are the ones where you are known.

That means asking how someone's family is doing, how they like their job, how the weekend went. Be careful not to cross into HR or legal territory, but be genuinely interested. If someone has worked late four or five nights this week, notice it and ask what is going on. Talk about life balance. You do not need hugs and flowers. You do need people to feel that you actually care about them.

If you are not naturally good at this, you have to work on it. Successful organizations are relational organizations.

What if you do not enjoy being the leader?

Number fifteen is enjoy the responsibility. Great leaders love being in charge, not for the power, but for the impact: you can make a difference, contribute, inspire, equip, encourage, celebrate, fix, set things up and create. They enjoy being the person where the buck stops.

All fifteen, in one pass

1. Make others feel safe to speak up.
2. Make decisions without waiting for perfect.
3. Communicate expectations in writing.
4. Challenge people to think.
5. Be accountable to others.
6. Lead by example.
7. Measure and reward performance.
8. Provide continuous feedback.
9. Properly allocate and deploy talent.
10. Ask 50% more questions than you make directives, and seek counsel.
11. Solve problems now by looking for causes and solutions, not for who to blame.
12. Bring positive energy and attitude.
13. Be a teacher.
14. Invest in relationships.
15. Enjoy the responsibility.

You do not have to master all fifteen at once. Pick the one that made you wince, and start there this week. If it is number eleven, find the one thing you have been putting off and put it on the calendar today.