Problems and Solutions, Doers and Managers

One of the biggest differences when transitioning from doer to manager is how best practices on communication change.

When you’re a doer executing for a boss, the best bet is to lead with solutions.

Every executer worth their salt eventually realizes that just pointing out problems doesn’t really help the team.

That just creates work for someone else

(Potentially the exact person deciding whether you stick around to get a raise).

So it’s better to carry the ball all the way down the court:

“Hey boss, I found X issue, so I did Y, Z, and B. Here’s a draft of an email you can use to tell the C-Suite. Have a nice weekend!”

At Deloitte, we called this “managing up.”

And it’s how you proved your worth and moved up in the org.

But when you transition to being a manager or a CEO,

Your mentality has to shift.

It's not longer about being execution-focused;

You need to become results-obsessed.

It’s not your job to map out every step anymore;

It’s your job to set the goals and track the outcomes.

Sure, you’ll still get your hands dirty sometimes.

But if you hold onto a “lead with solutions” reflex as a boss,

You risk steamrolling employees’ ideas, limiting their growth,

And keeping yourself stuck in the weeds on tasks you meant to delegate.

Instead, you have to fight your prescriptive impulses with discipline.

Practice patience. Stay open to other solutions.

Yes, there will be things you prescribe, demonstrate, and hand down.

And in a crisis with a known playbook, you should be directive.

But most sophisticated work is better learned by doing

By trying, screwing up, and problem-solving.

Can't afford to let people learn?

Then it's YOUR job to fix your org so they have the overhead.

Or to hire someone who already has the reps.

If you want your org to scale,

They have to skill up

And so do you.

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