Problems, context, asks
First posted on LinkedIn.
Leaders need to stop saying “Don’t come with problems, come with solutions”. It is such a terrible incomplete mantra.
Because the truth is this:
Sometimes the person who spotted the problem cannot solve it.
Not because they’re incompetent — but because they don’t have the leverage, context, or authority to move the real blockers.
A better standard is this:
“Come with problems. Come with context. Come with asks.”
Tell me:
- What you’re seeing
- Why it matters
- What you’ve tried
- And what you need from me to move it
That’s how high-agency teams actually work.
Not by forcing every individual to manufacture a fully-baked solution but by letting the person closest to the problem surface it, and the person with the most leverage unlock it.