At some point in our careers, many of us have taken on the role of “the Fixer.”

• We jump in on other people's projects and work.
• We offer advice (almost always unsolicited).
• We ask to see the project before it’s ready AND then tell them what to change (even though they were not done yet).
• We make sure everything flows through us so that we always get final say.

Here is the problem:

👉 The Fixer doesn’t actually fix. The fixer causes more problems:

... No one they work with ever trusts their own work because the fixer never trusts it.

... No one on the team is willing to be a super creative problem solver because the fixer will likely not fully trust them to run with the idea without the Fixer's influence. Suddenly, people are losing their voice in the workplace.

... Ironically, the fixer is constantly being interrupted by their own team who feels they must get the fixer's thoughts before continuing.

The worst part? Originally NO ONE WAS ASKING for the Fixer's influence and now no one can make a move or a choice without the fixer.

💡 What is wrong with this approach? It dims people’s brilliance. Your team feels like nothing they do is good enough.

Ugh!! No one wants to be the leader that makes their team feel this way and yet many of us unintentionally do.

How often have you heard someone (maybe you) make comments like, "If I don't do it, no one will" or "I might as well do it myself because I'll end up having to fix it all anyways"? The aspect no one talks about with the fixer is that this approach also leaves you, the fixer, over stressed and overworked because you are doing everyone else's work in addition to your own.

When we stop trying to “fix” every situation —when we stop making people feel like they need fixing—they begin to see what they’re truly capable of.

✨ They discover their own solutions. ✨ They own their brilliance. ✨ They grow in ways we couldn’t have predicted.

✨ The quality of their work soars! In fact, they do BETTER work than we would have!!

And we get to witness something powerful:

🌱 Growth that isn’t dependent on us—but inspired by the space we created.

So here’s the shift:

❌ Stop fixing.

✅ Start empowering.

✅ Start trusting.

✅ Start leading from behind, not above.

How do you do this?

Share with your team that you realize you've been acting the role of a "Fixer" and that they do not need fixing. Apologize. Own it! Share how brilliant they are and that you trust them. Give them permission and encouragement to call you out if and when you start peeking your head in their work unsolicited.

Stress that you trust them. Invite them to turn to each other for brainstorming when they hit obstacles and only come to you when they feel no other ideas were helping solve the problem.

Acknowledge this change might feel odd at first because you created a dependency for everyone to rely on you, the leader. No more. Trust yourself. You got this!

Best of all, when you empower others, you don’t just change outcomes—you change lives. 💙

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