764: Stop Solving Your Team’s Problems, with Elizabeth Lotardo

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Jan 5, 2026

In this engaging discussion, Elizabeth Lotardo, a consultant and author focused on emotional engagement, shares insights on how leaders can stop the cycle of solving their team's problems. She highlights the pitfalls of over-helping, revealing that while it feels satisfying, it ultimately leads to disempowerment and burnout. Elizabeth introduces a five-question framework to encourage team independence, emphasizing the importance of listening and removing obstacles instead of providing direct solutions. Her transformative approach empowers teams to learn and grow.

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INSIGHT

Short-Term Rescue, Long-Term Cost

Jumping in to solve problems feels good in the moment but creates long-term obstacles for teams and leaders.
Enabling others scales work and grows people more sustainably than rescuing them.

ADVICE

Ask What They've Tried First

Ask "What have you tried?" to assume capability and invite action without demanding a full solution.
Give space for silence or partial attempts and follow up with joint next steps if needed.

ADVICE

Bridge With Joint Action

When "What have you tried?" yields nothing, pivot to "What can we try together?" to share action without taking over.
Accept initial awkwardness as the short-term price for long-term independent problem solving.

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Elizabeth Lotardo: Stop Solving Your Team’s Problems for Them

Elizabeth Lotardo is a consultant, writer, and online instructor who helps organizations drive emotional engagement. Elizabeth writes for Harvard Business Review, is a Top Voice on LinkedIn, and the author of Leading Yourself: Find More Joy, Meaning, and Opportunities in the Job You Already Have. She’s also the author of the Harvard Business Review article, Stop Solving Your Team’s Problems for Them.

Jumping in to solve problems feels like we’re doing important work. The issue is that leaders need to be enabling work – both for scale and to grow the skills of others. In this conversation, Elizabeth and I detailed how to get out of the trap of solving your team’s problems for them.

Key Points

Jumping in to solve a problem feels good in the moment for both parties, but creates long-term obstacles.
The other extreme, asking people to only come with solutions, often shuts down learning for both parties.
Shifting a habit of solving your team’s problems will feel awkward at first – both for your team and you.
Rather than solving the problem for them, help remove the obstacle.
Support doesn’t just have to come from the manager. Often, looking at the situation together will help surface what kind of support would actually help.
We often assume that people are coming to us for answers. Sometimes, they just need to be heard.

Five questions that will help your team step up:

What have you tried?
What–or who–is getting in the way of tackling this?
What support do you need?
What would you do if you were in my seat?
Is there anything else I should know?

Resources Mentioned

Stop Solving Your Team’s Problems for Them by Elizabeth Lotardo
Leading Yourself: Find More Joy, Meaning, and Opportunities in the Job You Already Have by Elizabeth Lotardo (Amazon, Bookshop)*

Related Episodes

The Way to Stop Rescuing People From Their Problems, with Michael Bungay Stanier (episode 284)
Where Senior Leaders Can Better Support Middle Managers, with Emily Field (episode 650)
The Key Norm of a High-Performing Team, with Vanessa Druskat (episode 753)

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