Confident Leadership.

Aligned Teams.

Sustainable Growth.

Leadership development and strategic facilitation for leaders ready to align, decide, and move forward.

Conversation is easy. Clarity takes work.

HOW WE HELP

Whether you need to align your team, guide your board, or grow as a leader, each solution is designed to deliver focused progress without overwhelm or unnecessary extras.

Strategic Facilitation

High-impact facilitation to help misaligned teams or boards get clear, get focused, and move forward - without endless meetings, power struggles, or vague next steps.

A 6-week coaching intervention to help frustrated or struggling leaders to stop firefighting and build a team that works - without replacing anyone or micromanaging.

1:1 executive coaching and cohort coaching for leaders navigating complexity, visibility, and career growth. Build influence, clarity, and strategic habits that stick.

Leadership Workshops

High-impact workshops and keynotes for all audience levels that deliver the strategies, decision-making, and mindset shifts of months of coaching - in 60 to 90 minutes.

Not sure where to begin?
Start with a conversation.

OUR CORPORATE PROGRAMS ARE TRUSTED BY

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

How you lead matters.

Sign up for our Skip Level Strategies newsletter, where every Sunday you'll start your week with a 5-minute "power-up" - a strategy you can implement right away - to bring your leadership, decision-making, and communication to the next level.

BLOG
"Header image for 'Skip-Level Strategies' newsletter by Bridgewell LLC. The banner includes bold text reading 'Skip-Level Strategies: No Fluff. Just Strategy.' and 'Career & Leadership Newsletter.' It features a graphic of two healthcare professionals engaged in discussion and a stopwatch icon labeled '5 mins.'"

Issue 49: Why Leaders Need to Stop Being the Fixer

December 16, 20242 min read

Issue 49: Why Leaders Need to Stop Being the Fixer

"Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge."

— Simon Sinek

Welcome to our 49th issue! Simon Sinek’s words are a powerful reminder: leadership is about empowering others. Today, we’re diving into a trap many leaders fall into—being "the fixer"—and how stepping back can create stronger, more capable teams.

When you’re in a leadership role, it’s tempting to jump in and solve problems as they arise. After all, you probably got here because you’re good at solving problems. But always being the fixer is more harmful than helpful in the long run.

Here’s what it looks like when you play the fixer:

  • Your team becomes overly dependent: Instead of tackling challenges, they wait for you to swoop in and save the day.

  • Problems pile up on your plate: You’re constantly firefighting, which leaves you overwhelmed and with little time for strategic work.

  • Your team misses opportunities to grow: Problem-solving is like a muscle—it needs to be used to get stronger.

Fixing everything for your team might feel like the fastest route to a solution, but it’s a detour away from building their confidence, resilience, and independence.

What You Can Do Instead:

Empower Problem-Solving
Encourage your team to bring solutions, not just problems. Ask them, “What do you think we should do about this?” It’s a simple shift that challenges them to think critically before seeking your input.

Coach, Don’t Solve
Guide your team to their own solutions instead of handing them the answer. Ask coaching questions like:

  • “What options have you considered?”

  • “What’s the potential impact of those choices?”

  • “What would you need to make this work?”

Celebrate Wins
When your team successfully tackles a challenge, acknowledge their effort and growth. It reinforces their ability to handle the next obstacle and builds confidence.

Reflect and Adjust

Here are some questions to consider:

  • Are there situations where you jump in too quickly instead of letting your team handle it?

  • How can you create space for your team to solve their own challenges while still feeling supported?

  • What’s one question you can ask your team this week to encourage problem-solving?

When you stop being the fixer, you create room for your team to step up and grow. Not only does this ease your workload, but it also builds a stronger, more independent team capable of handling challenges with less reliance on you.

If your team’s dependency has been holding them (and you) back, let’s talk. Schedule a consultation, and we’ll craft a strategy to empower your team and give you more time to focus on what matters most.

Next Week's Preview:

Next week, we’ll explore how to align your team around a shared goal or priority for the new year. It’s the key to creating momentum and focus from day one.

Go out there and lead,

Asia

Stop being the fixerLeadership coaching tipsEmpowering teamsBuilding team independenceProblem-solving leadershipLeadership growth strategiesOvercoming leadership trapsEffective leadership skills
blog author image

Asia Bribiesca-Hedin

Asia Bribiesca-Hedin, MBA, MPA, CPC, CPCC, Principal Coach and CEO of Bridgewell LLC Professional Services

Back to Blog

Bridgewell LLC - Strategy and Leadership

info@bridgewellpro.com

626-407-4917

©2025 by Bridgewell LLC