Most managers are good at solving problems.

Far fewer are good at teaching how they think through those problems. That difference shapes the leadership pipeline inside an organization.

I was talking with a CTO last week about how often managers unintentionally create dependency. A direct report brings them a half-formed question and instead of slowing down to coach the reasoning, the manager just gives the answer. The task gets done faster in the moment, but the team doesn’t get better at thinking on their own.

Most managers don’t do this because they’re controlling. They do it because it feels efficient. But efficiency isn’t the same as leadership and it’s not how future leaders are built.

Instead, this is how dependency gets built and dependency is expensive. It slows decisions, clogs calendars with unnecessary meetings, and stalls your leadership pipeline. Worst of all, future leaders aren’t developed. They’re sidelined before they ever get the chance to take ownership.

If you want stronger decision-makers at every level, the answer isn’t more training for the sake of training. It’s equipping your managers with the in-the-moment coaching behaviors they rarely learn on their own and that actually sticks.

It’s changing what your managers do in the moment:
1. Ask: “Walk me through your thinking.”
2. Then ask: “If the decision were yours, what would you choose and why?”
3. Then explore the reasoning together:

If their conclusion differs from yours: Narrate your own thought process, not as a rebuttal, but as a window into how you weigh risks, priorities, and trade-offs. 

If you align with their thinking: Highlight the key parts of their reasoning they got right. Only add what’s mission-critical if something was missed. Then encourage them to own the next step and move forward with confidence.

These are tiny shifts. And they compound into confidence, ownership, and better decision-making across the team. 

Leadership isn’t built through answers. It’s built through making thinking visible.

Your strongest managers won’t be the ones who solve problems the fastest. They’ll be the ones who grow thinkers who no longer need them.