Why being a great problem solver can actually stall your leadership growth
In short: The very behaviors that earn you a promotion often become the biggest obstacles to leading effectively. When managers cling to their old habits, they inadvertently stunt their team's development. Breaking these cycles requires more than just new responsibilities; it demands a fundamental shift in how you perceive your own value.
Elizabeth Lyle argues that organizations frequently set managers up for failure by failing to clarify which behaviors must be abandoned during a promotion. Many individuals are rewarded early in their careers for being exceptional 'solvers.' However, when these people move into leadership roles, they often mistakenly believe that fixing every issue personally is the key to continued success.
This habit creates a bottleneck where leaders swoop in to resolve problems, effectively robbing team members of opportunities to learn and grow. To break this cycle, Lyle suggests that managers must explicitly identify which tasks they will no longer perform. This involves handing over responsibilities so that teams have the space to take ownership of their own work.
A practical way to transition is to make these changes official by communicating clearly with direct reports about the shift in roles. Instead of being the person who provides the answer, a leader must become the reviewer of potential solutions. This requires leaders to find comfort in admitting they do not have every answer immediately, shifting their 'career currency' from knowing everything to supporting the team's growth. Lyle suggests hosting a ceremony to bequeath old duties to direct reports. This helps make the transition tangible for everyone involved.
Beyond solving problems, other destructive habits include discouraging negative news, avoiding complex issues, and failing to seek feedback. Because a leader's actions have an outsized impact, these behaviors can trickle down, creating cultures of mistrust and inefficiency across the entire organization. These negative behaviors can cause employees and teams to become ineffective. They also lead to an environment where people feel mistrustful of their superiors.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Elizabeth Lyle: How to break bad management habits before they reach the next generation of leaders
- Also: Do you have any of these 4 bad habits of managers? Here’s how to change them
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