You know the feeling.
You’re modernizing infrastructure while keeping systems running. Transforming culture while hitting quarterly targets. Adopting Cloud and AI while managing security risks. And somehow, you’re supposed to make it look seamless.
IT leadership has always meant changing tires on a moving car. But here’s what’s different now: the car is accelerating.
The Trap of Technical Expertise
Early in my career leading IT organizations I relied on what got me promoted: deep technical knowledge, very analytical and the ability to solve problems fast.
Someone brought me a challenge, I’d see the solution immediately. It felt efficient. It felt like leadership.
But I was building something precarious: a team that waited for my answers.
When the car is moving this fast, being the smartest person in the room isn’t a strength—it’s a bottleneck.
The Question That Changed Everything
One day, instead of immediately solving a problem, I asked: “What do you think we should do?”
The silence was uncomfortable. Then something shifted.
The solution that emerged wasn’t just good—it was better than what I would have prescribed. Why? Because the person closest to the problem saw nuances I’d missed.
That’s when I realized: in constant transformation, your job isn’t to have all the answers. It’s to ask the questions that unlock your team’s thinking.
From Directive to Coaching
The traditional leadership reflex goes like this:
- Problem appears
- You analyze it
- You provide the solution
- Team executes
It works. Until it doesn’t scale. Until the pace of change means you can’t analyze every problem fast enough.
The coaching approach is different:
- Problem appears
- You ask: “What’s the real challenge here?”
- You ask: “What have you already considered?”
- You ask: “What would you do if I weren’t available?”
A little less advice. A little more curiosity.
What This Actually Looks Like
I’m not talking about lengthy coaching conversations. I’m talking about pausing for five seconds before you jump in with the answer.
In your next meeting, try asking one more question than you usually would.
When someone asks “What should I do?” try responding with “What options have you explored?”
When you feel the urge to course-correct immediately, ask “What’s your thinking on this?”
These aren’t performance coaching questions. They’re leadership questions that build capability while you’re changing tires.
The Uncomfortable Truth
This shift is hard because it requires trusting people before they’ve proven themselves at the next level.
It means watching them consider an approach you wouldn’t choose.
It means letting go of the identity of being the person with answers.
Here’s what happens: when you stop being the bottleneck, transformation accelerates. Your team doesn’t wait for you to solve problems—they solve them while you’re focused on what only you can do.
Iceland’s President Halla Tómasdóttir once said it perfectly: “My goal is not to be a president with all the answers. I want to be a president that asks the right questions.”
When the car is moving this fast, that’s not just wise leadership.
It’s the only kind that works.
So here’s my question for you:
What would change in your organization if, just once this week, you asked a question instead of providing an answer?
