5-minute read – worth every second of your cognitive energy
The doctor you’d fire immediately
Imagine walking into your GP’s office with recurring headaches. Without asking questions or running tests, they hand you paracetamol and send you on your way.
Three weeks later, you’re back with the same headaches. Again, more paracetamol. No investigation, no blood work, no interest in what’s actually causing the problem.
You’d find a new doctor immediately.
Yet this is exactly what we accept from our managers every single day.
The problem with brilliant minds
Your managers are smart. They solve problems quickly. They keep things moving.
But here’s what most executives don’t realise: intelligence without systematic thinking creates a dangerous pattern. Smart managers become very good at treating symptoms while remaining completely blind to root causes.
The result? The same issues resurface every quarter like clockwork.
The neuroscience of quick fixes
Our brains are wired to seek immediate relief from problems. When we solve something quickly, it triggers dopamine – the same reward chemical we get from checking social media, ticking something off our list, and eating chocolate.
This neurological reward system works against systematic thinking. The brain prefers the instant gratification of a quick fix over the delayed satisfaction of permanent solutions. The reward of a sustained solution is too far away to drive us to want to work for it, so instead we go for the quick band-aid solution.
Why smart managers stay stuck
Most managers approach problems like mechanics, not diagnosticians. They see something broken and immediately start fixing rather than taking the time to understand what’s going on.
This creates three dangerous patterns:
Pattern 1: The symptom spiral
Fix the immediate issue → Problem returns in slightly different form → Fix that version → Repeat indefinitely
Pattern 2: The fire department culture
Managers are rewarded for solving urgent problems → Team learn to celebrate quick thinking → No one questions why problems keep happening → Repeat indefinitely
Pattern 3: The time pressure trap
“We don’t have time to figure out why it happened” → Quick fix applied → More problems created → Even less time for proper solutions → Repeat indefinitely
The medical practice standard
Here’s what puzzles me: we’d never accept reactive treatment from medical professionals, yet we tolerate it from business managers.
When your doctor investigates symptoms, they follow a systematic process:
- Ask detailed questions about when, where, and how
- Run diagnostic tests to understand what’s happening
- Identify the root cause before prescribing treatment
- Monitor results to ensure the solution works
Why don’t we expect the same standard from our managers? We’re not asking for a lot here, just for them to figure out what’s wrong before solving something.
And yet, that doesn’t happen. Why? Because they aren’t encouraged to do it and they haven’t been taught how.
4 executive actions that transform firefighters into problem preventers
1. Stop rewarding speed over solutions
Right now, you probably celebrate managers who solve problems quickly. This trains them to prioritise speed over thoroughness.
New approach: Recognise managers who prevent recurring problems, not just those who fix immediate ones.
In your next one-on-one, ask: “What are you doing to make sure this doesn’t happen again?”
2. Create time for diagnosis
Your managers default to quick fixes because they feel pressure to solve things immediately. You need to build diagnostic time into their expectations.
As Albert Einstein famously said: “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions”
New approach: When problems arise, encourage managers to spend time understanding the problem before implementing solutions.
3. Coach the questioning process
Most managers jump to solutions because they’ve never been taught to investigate systematically.
New approach: Teach them to ask “Why” five times before asking “How do we fix it?”
Your role: Model this behaviour. When managers bring you problems, ask “What do you think caused this?” then ask “Why” five times before discussing solutions.
4. Invest in problem-solving skills
This is where most organisations fail. They expect managers to develop systematic thinking without providing actual training.
New approach: Systematic up skilling in root cause analysis, questioning techniques, and coaching methodologies.
Here’s the most effective approach:
Comprehensive training that develops these interconnected skills systematically rather than hoping managers figure it out themselves.
The real cost of staying reactive
Every recurring problem costs you three times:
- The initial solution
- The time spent re-solving it repeatedly
- The opportunity cost of what your managers could have accomplished with their time instead
But the hidden cost is even higher: teams lose confidence in management when the same issues keep appearing. They start to believe problems are inevitable rather than preventable.
The systematic solution
The highest-performing organisations don’t have managers who are better at fighting fires. They have managers who are better at preventing them.
This requires systematic development in three critical areas:
- Root cause analysis techniques – so problems get solved once
- Questioning and investigation skills – so managers diagnose before they prescribe
- Coaching methodologies – so they develop problem-solving thinking in their teams
The Effective Manager Program delivers all of the above (and more). Rather than hoping your managers figure out problem-solving through experience, we teach them the diagnostic frameworks that transform reactive managers into proactive problem solvers.
Your next step
If you’re tired of your managers fighting the same fires repeatedly (and you footing the bill), here’s exactly what to do – contact me right now and let’s solve this problem once and for all.
Not the one who decides on manager development? Forward this to whoever is – they need to understand that systematic manager development isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a competitive advantage.
