Fix-It Mentality vs. Trusting Your Team

Before asking, "How do I fix the team?" ask, "How am I contributing to what's happening?" In a coaching session this morning, a senior executive expressed frustration about their team's lack of initiative. "They just won't step up," they said, already brainstorming ways to "fix" the team. Then we paused to ask a different question: "How might I be contributing to what I'm seeing?" The shift was immediate and powerful. As we dug deeper, several key patterns emerged: The questions we ask: When team members raised concerns, the leader's go-to response was, "What's your solution?" While it seemed empowering, it actually shut down early-stage thinking. People stopped bringing up issues unless they had perfect answers. The space we create: Their calendar was so packed that "quick catchups" replaced real conversations. Team members had nowhere to explore half-formed ideas or voice emerging concerns. The presence we bring: Stress about deadlines was manifesting as impatience. Every interaction felt rushed, which the team interpreted as dismissiveness. As a result, they became hesitant to contribute. The stories we believe: A fixed belief – "My team should be more independent" – was creating dependency. Team members feared looking uncertain or asking for help. By the end of our session, the leader had a profound insight: Team behavior isn't created in a vacuum – it adapts to the environment we foster. True transformation begins when we shift from "fixing the team" to adjusting our own: Questions: From "What's your solution?" to "Tell me more about what you're seeing." Space: From rushed catchups to dedicated time for deeper conversations. Presence: From impatience to managing their own state and bringing genuine curiosity. Stories: From "They should know better" to "We’re all learning." Within weeks, the team started showing up differently – not because they’d been "fixed," but because the leader created the space for them to be their best selves. Leadership truth: What we see in others is often a reflection of what we're creating. What patterns might you be reinforcing in your team? #LeadershipGrowth #PersonalDevelopment

🚨 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿? 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲. 🚨 When you join an existing organization, especially in a leadership role, there’s a temptation to jump in and start making changes right away. You might feel the need to prove yourself by saying things like, “This isn’t how it should be done,” or “I know how to fix that.” 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿: 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿. 🙅 If you’re in this situation, stop immediately. ✋ I’ve seen it happen too many times—new leaders eager to make an impact, but instead, they end up crashing into a wall because they didn’t take the time to understand the context. In fact, if this happens on my watch, it’s an instant red flag. 🚩 Here’s my advice: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: 𝗗𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝘄𝗼. No decisions, no sweeping changes. Just listen, talk to people, meet with the team, and learn 👀. Absorb everything you can about the organization—its culture, its challenges, and the reasons behind the decisions that have been made. 𝗪𝗵𝘆?  Because you have no idea how much the context matters. 🧩 Unless you’re joining a six-month-old startup, every decision made—good or bad—was driven by reasons and rationale. If you don’t take the time to understand these, you risk running headfirst into a wall that could ruin your credibility before you even get started. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹: Coming in with a “fix it” mindset isn’t just a bad strategy—it’s disrespectful to the existing team. The only reason you’re here is because these people have built something strong enough to bring you on board. They’ve laid the foundation that allows the company to afford and value your expertise. Respect that. Acknowledge the hard work that’s been done before you arrived. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. It’s about making informed decisions. It’s about understanding the landscape before you start paving new roads. 🌍 So, take a breath, slow down, and learn. Your future success—and the success of your team—depends on it. #Leadership #NewHires #OrganizationalCulture #Listening #DecisionMaking #CareerAdvice

As founders, we’d like to think we're Steve Jobs. Most days we're Michael Scott with more expensive mistakes. I've been working until midnight this week, convinced I could solve a complex implementation issue alone. I assumed that as founder, I had to have all the answers. Predictably, I was wrong. When I finally brought the issue to my product team, Yasser El Habib spotted a solution within minutes. It wasn’t the first time this happened, and it definitely won't be the last. Building Boon taught me the uncomfortable truth: my job isn't to be the smartest person in every room. It's to build the team that collectively is. Embracing this reality means getting comfortable with things like:  • Admitting "I don't know, what do you think?"  • Trusting your team, even if their ideas contradict your instincts.  • Creating real space for other people to lead. Last month, the team asked to spend an entire sprint optimizing internal processes, while I argued to prioritize client deliverables. Every instinct I had said no. Deadlines were looming. But I trusted them and within weeks, that decision reduced our development time by 38%. Founders love being the hero. But I've learned my team's ideas usually outperform mine—especially when I'm certain they're wrong. What's the best decision your team made that you initially resisted?

Once I fired myself as "Chief Mr. Fix-It", my team moved faster without me. For years, I thought stepping in to fix every problem made me a better leader. However, it is 𝘁𝗵𝗲 rookie leader mistake. It's a slippery slope. You want to ensure everything is done the way you do it, the "proper way." If a client called, I jumped in. If a ticket stalled, I handled it. If there was a fire, I put it out. If you are doing this, STOP. What ended up happening to me: → My team waited for me to solve everything → I was frustrated and stressed → Work piled up on my desk → Morale dropped-fast I thought I was helping. The truth? I was in the way. “Fixing” is not leadership. It’s control in disguise. Trust and autonomy only grow when you take a step back. Yes, I learned that the hard way. I had to stop the madness, so I: → Clearly defined roles and expectations (without me in the mix) → Set a 15-minute rule: I offer help only after they’ve worked on it → Celebrated decisions, even when they weren't perfect Ownership started to grow. People moved faster. Problems got solved without me!! Leadership is not about getting things fixed faster, it’s about building teams who can fix themselves. What made you step back and let your team own the work?imp

"If You Have a Problem, Yo, I'll Solve It" Yes, I’m dating myself with the Vanilla Ice reference, but really...should we always be the ones solving the problem? Let’s dig a little deeper. If you feel like you have to solve all the problems in your company, ask yourself this: Why? What is it about stepping in and being the fixer that feels so critical to your leadership? -Is it the belief that no one else can handle it like you can? -A fear that mistakes will reflect poorly on you? -Or maybe it’s simply a habit you’ve built over years of leading? The truth is, fixing everything doesn’t make you a better leader. It makes you indispensable in all the wrong ways. When you’re the go-to problem solver, you’re unintentionally teaching your team that they can’t handle things on their own—or worse, that you don’t trust them to. Here’s a simple shift to consider: -Next time an issue comes up, pause. -Instead of jumping in with a solution, ask your team: 💡 “What do you think we should do?” 💡 “What’s causing this problem, and how can we address it at the root?” When you empower your team to think critically and solve issues themselves, a few incredible things happen: ✅ You get out of the weeds. ✅ Your team grows stronger, more confident, and more capable. ✅ And you get to focus on the bigger picture—without feeling like you’re holding everything together with duct tape. So ask yourself: What would it take for you to step back and trust your team to own the solutions? It might just be the best thing you ever do for your leadership—and your business.

Most teams perform well when things go to plan. But the real test? 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸. When the system cracks. When the outcome disappoints. When leadership doesn’t have the answer. That’s when capability is revealed. Early in my career, I thought outcomes defined high-performing teams. Revenue. Costs. Time. But after 20 years in the work, I’ve seen a deeper truth: 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 aren’t defined by the results they get when things go right. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗴𝗼 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴. One story I’ll never forget: A healthcare client had just merged two departments. On paper? Smart. In reality? Dysfunctional. Patient wait times ballooned. Morale cratered. Nobody knew who owned what. Leadership did what most do: More tech. More meetings. More people. None of it worked. So we paused. And asked the frontline team: "𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲?” They were brutally honest: > “We’re moving fast, but not well.” > “No one asked 𝘂𝘀 how to make this work.” > “We’re confused, tired, and constantly behind.” So we did something radical. We armed the team with a method and mandate to redesign the system themselves. They mapped what was broken. Rebuilt the process. Tested. Iterated. And kept improving it...even after it failed the first time. They didn’t give up. They learned. They failed. They refined. 𝗨𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁. > Wait times dropped 65%. > Clarity, trust, and morale rebounded. > Ownership was unmistakable. > Collaboration skyrocketed. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁? True operational excellence isn’t about perfect results. It’s about building a system you can trust, even when it doesn’t go to plan. Because when your system is built for learning, every misstep moves you forward. 📌 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺. So the next time something breaks? Don’t just fix it. Build a culture that learns 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 the mess, not around it. ♻️ Hit that share and help your network. 🔔 Follow me for more leadership and OpEx insights. P.S. If your teams are moving from one project to another without 'learning through the mess' let’s talk. #Leadership #Teamwork #Resilience #OrganizationalCulture #LearningFromFailure

Here’s a common trap for founders: you see a gap in your team’s execution, so you jump in to fix it yourself. You work harder, take on more, and push through the exhaustion. The result? A burned-out leader and a team that learns to rely on you to step in rather than solve problems themselves. This cycle of over-functioning is one of the most common ways founders sabotage their teams. By taking on too much, you unintentionally teach your team that they don’t need to take ownership because you’ll always handle it. Breaking the cycle starts with letting go of the need to be the savior. Ask yourself: What’s one task I can delegate this week? What support does my team need to grow their skills instead of leaning on me? Trust isn’t just about believing in others — it’s about giving them the space to prove themselves. And maybe even make mistakes along the way. Burnout doesn’t just hurt you; it limits your company’s potential. Step back and give your team the chance to step up.

Managing a team across 7 countries taught me one big lesson: Leadership is the real challenge. When team members ran into problems or made mistakes but didn’t say anything. Instead, they’d try to fix things on their own. I didn’t get it at first. Then I realized: ❌ It wasn’t about their ability. ✅ It was about fear. In some cultures, the boss is seen as untouchable. Admitting a mistake feels like failure. It’s not that they didn’t care, it’s just the way things are in some places. But staying quiet often made small problems much bigger. I knew something had to change. 1/ Creating a safe space. → I started by making it clear that mistakes are okay. → In team meetings, I shared my own mistakes and how I fixed them. → In 1-on-1s, I’d say, “If something’s wrong, just tell me. We’ll sort it out together.” 2/ Leading by example. → I didn’t just talk about it, I showed it. → I was always on time for meetings to set the tone. → If I made a mistake, I owned it right away and explained how I’d fix it. This built trust. It showed my team it’s okay to be human. That’s why everything changed. ↳ People spoke up early. ↳ Teamwork got stronger. ↳ Mistakes became opportunities to learn. ❌ Leadership isn’t about being perfect. ✅ It’s about making your team feel safe to be real, ask for help, and grow. In the end, it’s not about cultural gaps. It’s about building trust and connection. ➡️ Follow me for more insights from entrepreneurs building global-first companies!