We’ve all heard in recent years of so-called successful companies going under. Why is that? Is it because the leaders aren’t good leaders? I’m quite sure we’ll get serious disagreement by anyone trying to answer that question, especially if some of the folks have a personal stake in the response. But what if we pose the question a little differently? What if the company’s failure is not the result of a leader’s inability to lead but rather, the leader’s inability to be a problem solver?
The leader of an organization has many hats to wear, including chief problem solver. But do we seriously believe that Donald Trump, for example, is engaged in daily problem solving for every single problem, no matter how inconsequential, which develops within his organization? How realistic is that? What makes Trump the leader that he has become is his ability to surround himself with extremely competent people whose goal is to identify problem areas and areas needing improvement and develop realistic solutions to implement. These folks bring the complete package to their leader’s attention and a collaborative approach is taken for the implementation of the solution, usually followed by an objective, honest assessment of how well the solution is working. That’s what makes Trump the success that he is, in my view. He hires good problem solvers and then relies upon them – and expects them – to do their job to the best of their ability.