Stop Solving Everything And Start Coaching

Your team walks in with a problem and your brain lights up with solutions. You can feel the “here’s what I’d do” forming before they even finish the sentence and it works… until it doesn’t. Because when you become the place where every hard decision goes to get solved, your team’s confidence shrinks while your workload explodes. I’m Tess, and I’m unpacking a simple leadership shift: moving from being the answer machine to being more coach-like in the conversations you’re already having. Drawing on Michael Bungay Stanier’s The Coaching Habit, we name the advice monster, talk about why default advice creates dependence, and show how coaching can happen in 10 minutes or less. This is leadership coaching for real life: no extra meetings, no awkward scripts, just better questions at the right moment. We get practical with tools you can use immediately, including the 2-second pause, the deceptively powerful “And what else?”, listening for the person behind the problem, and using silence so people can actually think. We also cover a critical boundary for managers: helping without taking ownership, staying accountable, and leading the thinking rather than doing all the thinking. You’ll leave with a simple five-step coaching flow that builds autonomy, problem-solving, and a stronger learning culture over time. If you’re ready to coach without losing authority, press play. Subscribe, share this with a fellow “fixer,” and leave a quick review, then tell me: which coaching question will you try first?