As managers, we need to be willing to solve the right problems.

In general, managers are not much different from non-managers. We have many of the same failings as anyone else. One that bothers me is that managers like to solve the easier problems. But as a manager climbs the ranks, the problems they should be solving become more complex.

Too often, managers reach down and engage in lower-level problems that their teams should be taking care of. I see directors reaching all the way down to the individual contributor level just to get things moving.

Sometimes that is necessary. Things need to get moving.

But if it keeps happening, the manager needs to solve the root cause. We need to make improvements so the same thing does not keep happening.

It is funny how managers will tell their teams they need to keep problems from reoccurring, but they often do not see the same pattern in themselves.

There are two primary problems I see.

The first is how the work is structured. Leaders should think about changing the process so teams can work together more effectively instead of relying on managers to push work across organizational boundaries. One possible solution is moving toward value stream leadership rather than leadership organized around specific roles.

The second problem is culture. Responsibility needs to be pushed down.

That means developing people so they can own decisions and take responsibility at lower levels instead of managers taking that responsibility back whenever something goes wrong.

I keep thinking about the military. People are given responsibility for the lives of others at very young ages. Yet at work, where the consequences are usually far less serious than someone’s life, we are often reluctant to give people meaningful responsibility.

I am not saying managers should point fingers when something does not go right. Giving people responsibility does not mean abandoning them when they make a mistake.

Managers still have responsibility for developing their people and improving the system around them.

But managers also need to be willing to develop themselves and solve the right problems, not just the easy ones.