When problem-solving skills keep us stuck…

Maybe like me, you are excellent at solving problems.
And I mean excellent.

You can troubleshoot a crisis in minutes.
You can put out fires before anyone else even notices the smoke.
You can fix, adjust, patch, juggle, rearrange, stabilize, recover.

You are so good at solving problems that people rely on you for it.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Problem-solving might be the very thing keeping you stuck.

Because problem-solving is not a leadership skill.

Leaders aren’t focused on what needs fixing right now.
Leaders are focused on where they’re going next.

Leaders decide:

• Their ideal outcome
• Their direction
• Their next move
• The path that takes them forward

Problem-solvers clean up the present.
Leaders are free to create the future.

This is why—when you bring your boss, partner, committee, or team a perfectly-crafted solution—you’re sometimes met with a blank stare.

They’re not uninterested.
They’re just thinking about the future, not the present.

Problem-solving clears the path.
Leadership chooses the path.

It took me a really long time to understand that clearing the path was never going to get me an invitation to choose where it went. To step into the next version of my work, my space, my life and myself… I had to stop fixing and spend my time creating.

So, when you see that next problem that’s begging to be solved, ask:
Will solving it get me to where I want to go next? If not, what can I choose that will?