Why ‘don’t come to me with problems—come to me with solutions’ is bad advice |
Why ‘don’t come to me with problems—come to me with solutions’ is bad advice
And what to do instead.
[Photo: muhammad.abdullah/Magnific]
“Don’t come to me with problems. Come to me with solutions.”
You’ve almost certainly heard this line. You may have even said it yourself. It sounds both tough-minded and empowering. But of all the things managers say with good intentions, this is my least favorite. It inadvertently sends two unhelpful messages: First, that problems aren’t welcome, and second, that solving them is something you should do on your own. Both are exactly wrong in today’s complex, uncertain world.
As a management aphorism, it’s in direct tension with what the best leaders tend to say and do. Colin Powell once said: “Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop........