Leadership Problems

How to think about and solve them

“This is why we have jobs”

Having led organizations for 15 years, I was able to see that leadership is a vast subject that comes with many varied problems. In fact, when dealing with difficulties, I would tell my team that “this is why we have jobs. If everyone did exactly what they were supposed to do, when they were supposed to do it, and automatically knew what they were supposed to do, we wouldn’t be needed.”

To effectively address these issues, breaking down leadership into categories can helpful.

People Problems. This is the majority of challenges that stem from interpersonal interactions, team dynamics, egos, and burnout.

Strategic Problems. This is the focus on making the right directional decisions and being market-aware to ensure the organization stays on the correct path.

Tactical Problems. These deal with implementation and ensuring that right actions are performed by the right people at the right time.

Of course, these three categories often overlap, and each category must be assessed for capacity, including staffing, financial capital, and relational capacity.

When solving problems in each category, seek to identify the root cause rather than just the presenting problems, which are often secondary or tangential issues. True leadership involves helping individuals get beneath these presenting problems to resolve the core issues and alleviate the associated challenges.

How to get to the root cause? Ask open questions. People are generally capable of solving their own problems. Often, they don’t because they don’t feel they have permission, are stymied by organizational politics or maybe they just want you to validate what they are already thinking. But, they can solve most of their problems. You just need to lead them there by asking questions that require feedback, not yes or no answers.

For example, you might inquire what kind of difficulty the team member is facing if they missed targets, then listen for perceived obstacles underneath the reasons given. By listening closely to team members, leaders can uncover the underlying factors, such as trust, competence levels, and alignment with organizational values.

You can see that strategic and tactical problems are, for the most part, presenting problems. It’s your people that are the most important development focus of your organization.

So, when considering how to improve implementation of strategy, look first at your team’s strengths, their state of mind and commitment to the mission.

When those are squared away, the team will be high functioning and will accomplish the goals that the leadership team sets for the organization.