Stop Solving Problems — Why Asking Questions Works Better as a Leader

Let me tell you about a lesson I learned the hard way. Early in my career, I was eager to be the go-to person in my team.

I thought that if I could just share all my knowledge, if I could answer every question before it was even asked, things would run smoother.

People would get the answers they needed, and we’d all move forward faster, right?

I thought I was being helpful, but in hindsight, I was doing the exact opposite.

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The Trap of “Instant Answers”

I’m working with a team of talented engineers, and there’s this constant flow of questions. A lot of them were simple problems — things that, honestly, I knew the answers to immediately.

But, rather than sitting back and letting them work through it, I jumped in, answering quickly to get things moving.

At first, it felt like a win. I was solving problems, the team was moving forward, and everything was chugging along smoothly.

But after a while, something started to bother me. I noticed that the more I answered questions, the more questions came my way. It was like I had become the bottleneck.