Why ‘don’t come to me with problems—come to me with solutions’ is bad advice

And what to do instead.

[Photo: muhammad.abdullah/Magnific]

“Don’t come to me with problems. Come to me with solutions.”

You’ve almost certainly heard this line. You may have even said it yourself. It sounds both tough-minded and empowering. But of all the things managers say with good intentions, this is my least favorite. It inadvertently sends two unhelpful messages: First, that problems aren’t welcome, and second, that solving them is something you should do on your own. Both are exactly wrong in today’s complex, uncertain world.

As a management aphorism, it’s in direct tension with what the best leaders tend to say and do. Colin Powell once said: “Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop........

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