3. Helping the Team Step Up

How Les Stopped Being the Fix-It Guy

Les had come a long way since the early days of running his timber joinery business in the Waikato. With John from RegenerationHQ by his side, he’d already reshaped how he made decisions and how the team worked together.

But a new pattern had started to emerge. Whenever something went wrong — a job misquoted, a timeline slipping, a customer frustrated — the team would show up at Les’s office door.

“What do you want me to do?” they’d ask. And Les, without skipping a beat, would solve it. Again and again. It worked — sort of. But John raised a red flag.

“Les,” he said, “you’re stuck in ‘hero mode.’ They’re relying on you for answers instead of building their own capability. That’s not leadership. That’s dependency.”

Les knew John was right. He was tired. And his team wasn’t growing — just reacting.

The Trap of Giving Answers

Les always felt good when he helped. It reinforced his role as the experienced one, the fixer, the boss. But John helped him see the downside -

• When he solved things for his team, they weren’t owning the problem.

• If his solution failed, they blamed him.

• Over time, they got used to waiting — not thinking.

• And Les? He became the bottleneck.

Psych insight -  When leaders over-function, teams under-function. Micromanagement kills confidence and stalls growth.

The Shift -  From Answer Giver to Problem Partner

John introduced Les to a three-question model — a simple, powerful way to shift responsibility back to the team without leaving them stranded.

Here’s how it worked.

1. “What do you recommend?”

The next time someone came in with a problem, Les didn’t jump in. He leaned back and asked, “What do you reckon we should do?”

At first, people were thrown. But over time, the team learned to come prepared — not just with the problem, but with a potential path forward.

Red flag -  If team members consistently say, “I don’t know” or avoid taking a stance, it signals fear of failure or learned helplessness.

Mitigation -  Normalise trial-and-error. Reinforce that not all ideas need to be perfect —

just considered.

HR best practice -  Encouraging initiative supports employee engagement, ownership, and professional growth.

2. “How can we test that?”

Once someone made a suggestion, Les didn’t greenlight it blindly — but he didn’t shut it down either. Instead, he asked, “How could we try that without a big risk?”

This small shift created a huge mindset change. Ideas didn’t have to be perfect. They just had to be testable.

Psych insight -  Real-world testing builds learning faster than theory. Small-scale experiments reduce fear and build confidence.

Mitigation strategy -  Create a culture of ‘safe-to-fail’ pilots. Reward learning over just being right.

HR lens -  This approach taps into intrinsic motivation — a key factor in engagement, especially for younger workers.

3. “What do you need from me?”

Instead of managing the task, Les started supporting the process. He asked, “What do you need to make this work?” That could mean budget, time, access to a tool, or pulling in someone with a particular skill. But the accountability stayed with the team.

 This changed the tone completely — from Les being the fixer to being a facilitator.

HR best practice -  This reinforces psychological safety and encourages interdependence over dependency.

Red flag -  If staff can’t name what they need or rely on Les for permission at every turn, it signals a lack of autonomy.

Mitigation -  Build capability and trust over time — start small, follow through on support, and celebrate follow-through.

 The Cultural Shift in Les’s Workshop

After a few weeks of using the three-question model, something changed in the workshop -

• Team members started solving problems on their own — and proudly reporting back.

• Meetings became more about planning and learning, less about firefighting.

• Morale lifted. Les noticed more eye contact, more energy, more pride.

• Les felt less stretched and more focused — his role became strategic, not reactive.

 Most importantly, the team grew — not just in skill, but in mindset.

Psych insight -  When people are trusted to solve problems, they rise to meet that trust. Autonomy is one of the most powerful motivators.

What Other Kiwi Business Owners Can Learn from Les

• Stop solving every problem. Start asking better questions.

• Empower your team to own both the problem and the process.

• Create room for safe testing — not just top-down decisions.

• Shift from controller to enabler. You’ll get more buy-in and better ideas.

• Focus on long-term capability, not short-term relief.

 Red Flags to Watch For (And How to Manage Them)

• Problem escalations with no recommendations
  Mitigation -  Set the standard — “Bring me options, not just issues.”

• Idea avoidance or fear of failure
  Mitigation -  Celebrate effort and learning, not just outcomes.

• Team burnout or disengagement
  Mitigation -  Share decision-making, give voice and visibility.

• Leader overload
  Mitigation -  Build structured delegation into daily rhythms.

Final Word from John at RegenerationHQ

“Your job as a leader isn’t to have all the answers. It’s to create the space for your team to grow into the people who do.”

Les didn’t stop leading — he just started leading differently.

And the business? It ran better when he stepped back and let others step up.

A big thank you to Darrell K. Rigby for the inspiration to try this technique.