Many leaders fall into solving problems for people instead of with them. It feels efficient and helpful, but it actually undermines the people you’re trying to support by robbing them of agency and the chance to develop their own problem-solving muscles. Start by naming the problem out loud with your team instead of arriving with solutions ready. Ask questions before offering answers. Create space for others to contribute their thinking, even if it diverges from yours.
If you’re on the receiving end of this dynamic—someone always solving for you—it’s worth understanding what’s often behind it: a genuine impulse to help, even if the method isn’t serving you. You can gently redirect. Say things like “I’d like to think through this together” or “What if we approached this differently?” This builds partnership rather than resentment. Meanwhile, problem-solvers: when someone asks to be more involved, that’s not rejection. It’s an invitation to real collaboration.
The shift takes patience from both sides. But collaborative problem-solving yields something neither person achieves alone: genuine ownership, trust, and stronger solutions. Everyone grows.
TUNING Design Co. 