Solve Problems by Looking in the Mirror: Why Leaders Are Part of the Solution

Editor’s Note: This piece sits within the Cultivated library on leadership, systems thinking, and responsibility. It explores why leaders are not separate from organisational problems — and how looking inward is often the most powerful place to begin meaningful change.

Solve Problems by Looking in the Mirror: Why Leaders Are Part of the Solution

There is a quiet principle in systems thinking:

If people are part of the problem, they are also part of the solution.

It sounds obvious.
It is rarely practiced.

In organisations, we search for external fixes — consultants, tools, restructures, frameworks — anything that avoids the uncomfortable truth:
we shape the systems we are part of.

If something is broken, delayed, misaligned, or demoralising, leaders are rarely spectators. We are participants.

And that is precisely why we have power.

Draw a Circle Around Yourself

One of the most useful leadership exercises is also the most uncomfortable:
draw a circle around yourself.

Inside that circle is everything you own, influence, or helped create.

Low performance that goes unaddressed.
Confusion caused by unclear direction.
Conflict tolerated — or even encouraged.
Turnover driven by lack of meaning or growth.

Ownership changes how problems appear.
They stop being “out there” and become here
—within reach of action.

You Have More Influence Than You Think

Leadership influence is often invisible, but it is rarely small.

A casual request for a report can create layers of bureaucracy.
A throwaway deadline can erase someone’s weekend with their family.
A culture that rewards urgency can quietly punish rest.

Most leaders do not intend these outcomes.
But intention does not erase impact.

Systems amplify signals.
Leaders are signal generators.

Focus on What You Can Control

Leaders often waste energy mobilising teams to fix problems they cannot control.

Before acting, ask:

• Is this within my control?
• Where can I influence?
• Where must I accept and adapt?

Agency begins with boundaries.
Ownership without clarity becomes anxiety.

Explain Problems Simply

A useful test: could you explain the problem to a child?

If not, you likely do not understand it well enough.

Jargon hides confusion.
Simplicity reveals structure.

Often, in trying to explain the problem clearly, you discover that what you thought was the problem is merely a symptom. Or sometimes, you see the way to solve it.

Accept That Solutions Are Compromises

There are no perfect solutions.
Only better trade-offs.

Every intervention creates further problems or challenges.
Leaders who accept this reality design with humility rather than certainty.

Generate Many Possible Paths

The first solution is rarely the best.
Creative leadership means generating multiple viable paths forward.

Not to choose perfectly
— but to choose consciously.

Look for What Is Missing

Problems are defined as much by absence as by presence.

Missing data.
Missing voices.
Missing history.
Missing context.

Often, the solution is hidden in what nobody thought to ask.

Consider the Opposite

Sometimes clarity comes from inversion.

What would success look like if everything went wrong?
What if the assumptions were reversed?

Opposites loosen fixed thinking and reveal blind spots.

Involve Those Closest to the Work

The people closest to the problem usually understand it best.

They see friction, failure demand, and wasted effort daily.
They also see the simplest fixes.

Leadership from a distance is speculation and assumption.
Leadership with proximity is insight.

The Takeaway

Problems are rarely solved by tools, frameworks, or external programmes alone.
They are solved by people
starting with those who shape the system.

Leadership begins with reflection, not delegation.
With ownership, not outsourcing.
With humility, not heroics.

Draw a circle around yourself.
Look inward.
Then act outward.

Most solutions are already within reach.