The one question leaders should ask before searching for another solution
Few things frustrate a leader more than a problem that should have been resolved long ago—but keeps coming back.
You have discussed it in meetings. You have gathered information, considered solutions, and assigned action items. Perhaps you have provided additional training, introduced a new procedure, or reminded employees—again—about what is expected.
For a while, the situation may even improve.
Then the problem returns.
When that happens, most leaders ask some version of the same question:
“How do we fix this?”
It is a reasonable question. But it may be too early to ask it.
Before searching for another solution, try asking one more important question:
What is preventing us from getting the result we need?
That small shift can change the entire conversation.
The visible problem may not be the real obstacle
Most customers can tell me what is wrong:
- Employees are not taking ownership.
- Communication is poor.
- Customers are leaving.
- Supervisors are not holding people accountable.
- Decisions take too long.
- The same mistakes keep happening.
Those concerns are real—but they are often descriptions of an outcome, not explanations of what is producing it.
Consider the statement, “Our employees are not taking ownership.”
If we accept that as the complete problem, the likely solutions are predictable: talk about accountability, conduct training, clarify expectations, or warn employees that improvement is necessary.
But what if employees bring problems to their supervisors—and those supervisors immediately take over and solve them?
What if employees made decisions in the past but were criticized when the results were not perfect?
What if no one has clearly explained which decisions employees have the authority to make?
What if employees are rewarded for avoiding mistakes but not for exercising sound judgment?
Now we are looking at a very different problem.
The employees may not lack ownership. The organization may have unintentionally trained them to wait.
There may be another obstacle: leaders expect employees to solve problems and make sound decisions, but they have never given them a consistent problem-solving method to follow.
Without a shared model, employees are left to rely on instinct, personal experience, or whatever approach seems right in the moment. That makes employees less confident about acting—and leaders less confident about trusting the decisions they make.
Telling people to “take ownership” is not enough. If leaders want employees to solve problems independently, they must teach them how to examine a problem, consider the people affected, evaluate their options, and think through the consequences before acting. A sound, repeatable model gives employees the confidence to move forward and gives leaders greater confidence that those decisions will be thoughtful, consistent, and aligned with the organization.
Stop circling the symptoms
When people are frustrated, they naturally focus on what they can see. But visible symptoms can send an organization racing toward solutions before leaders understand what needs to change.
“Communication is poor” might actually mean important information never reaches frontline employees before they must act.
“Customers keep leaving” might mean individual complaints are resolved, but no one tracks the recurring breakdown behind them.
“Supervisors avoid accountability conversations” might mean those supervisors were promoted for technical ability and never taught how to address performance problems.
“Decisions take too long” might mean employees do not know who has authority, so every decision travels unnecessarily to the top.
In each case, the original statement identifies pain. The question—What is preventing us from getting the result we need?—begins the diagnosis.
That distinction matters. If we solve the wrong problem exceptionally well, we still have the wrong solution.
It is also one of the principles behind the WINX problem-solving model I developed: before deciding what to do, understand what is keeping the organization from achieving the result it needs—and consider how the decision will affect customers, employees, and the company. The goal is not simply to make the immediate problem disappear. It is to make a decision that strengthens the entire organization.
Ask it without assigning blame
The way a leader asks this question is as important as the question itself.
Asked with impatience, it can sound like: “Who is standing in our way?” That immediately invites blame and defensiveness.
Asked with genuine curiosity, it communicates: “Let’s understand what is making the right result difficult.”
That opens the door to examine several possibilities:
- People: Do they have the skills, confidence, information, and willingness to act?
- Leadership: Are leaders modeling, reinforcing, or unintentionally discouraging the behavior they expect?
- Process: Does the way work is designed make the desired result unnecessarily difficult?
- Priorities: Are employees receiving conflicting directions or competing incentives?
- Decisions: Is authority clear, or must people continually wait for approval?
- Consequences: What happens when someone speaks up, takes initiative, makes a mistake, or challenges the way things have always been done?
This is not an invitation to excuse poor performance. Accountability is essential. But effective accountability begins by correctly identifying what—or who—needs to change.
Keep asking until the answer becomes actionable
The first response may still be broad.
If someone says, “People just do not care,” ask: “What are you seeing that leads you to that conclusion?”
If the answer is, “Managers do not follow through,” ask: “What gets in the way of their follow-through?”
If you hear, “We have already tried everything,” ask: “What improved temporarily, and what caused the old pattern to return?”
Each question moves the conversation from judgment toward evidence.
The goal is not to keep asking questions forever. The goal is to reach an obstacle specific enough to address.
“Employees lack accountability” is difficult to act on.
“Supervisors routinely take problems back from employees instead of coaching them to recommend solutions” is observable, coachable, and measurable.
Now the organization has somewhere productive to begin.
The problem behind the recurring problem
Organizations are rarely stumped because they cannot see the symptoms. They are stumped because they have not identified what keeps producing them.
That is why another policy, meeting, training program, or reminder may create activity without creating lasting improvement. The solution addresses what happened, but not what allowed it to continue.
The next time your leadership team encounters a stubborn problem, resist the temptation to begin with, “What should we do?”
Pause first and ask:
What is preventing us from getting the result we need?
Listen carefully to the answer. Challenge assumptions. Look beyond the individual incident to the decisions, behaviors, processes, and leadership practices surrounding it.
Because when the same problem keeps coming back, the organization may not need another solution.
It may need a better question.
