Thoughts on Change:
How to Herd Humans
Without Losing Your Mind

Have you ever seen someone struggling with a problem and immediately known how to fix it?

 

You can see the root cause. You know the countermeasure. You’ve probably solved this exact problem ten times before.

 

So you jump in with the answer.

 

And somehow…they don’t use it. They push back. Or they keep bringing you problems instead of learning to solve them themselves.

 

Sound familiar?

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In this episode of Thoughts on Change, we’re exploring Quickshift, one of the Resistobots™ that can get in the way of our effectiveness as Continuous Improvement practitioners and change leaders.

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Because sometimes, our ability to solve problems becomes a problem of its own.

 

What You’ll Learn

In this episode, I explore:

• Why being good at problem-solving can make it harder to resist the urge to fix everything

• How your automatic response to someone else's struggle might be more about your discomfort than their needs

• Why Continuous Improvement practitioners can fall into the trap of treating people like problems to solve

• A simple question to ask yourself before jumping in with a solution

 

Meet Quickshift: The Resistobot™ That Wants to Fix Everything

Quickshift sees a problem and immediately wants to do something about it.

And there's a lot to love about that. In Continuous Improvement, seeing problems, identifying root causes, and moving toward solutions are incredibly valuable skills.

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But when fixing becomes our automatic response, we can start solving problems that other people need to learn to solve themselves.

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The problem isn't that Quickshift exists. It's what happens when we let it take over.

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Are You Solving Their Problem—or Your Discomfort?

Have you ever found yourself working harder on someone else's problem than they are?

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You offer a solution. They push back. You explain it again. They raise another concern, so you offer another solution.

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Before you know it, you're exhausted from trying to help someone who doesn't seem to want your help.

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In this episode, I share a personal story about how my own Quickshift response got in the way of supporting my husband—and why our attempts to help can sometimes be driven by our own discomfort with watching someone struggle.

 

The CI Trap: When Everything Becomes a Problem to Solve

As Continuous Improvement practitioners, we're trained to identify problems, analyze root causes, and experiment with solutions.

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But what happens when we start treating another person's frustration, uncertainty, or resistance as just another problem to solve?

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We can skip an important question:

Does this person actually need me to solve this?

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Sometimes people need an answer. Other times, they need space to think, experiment, build confidence, and develop their own problem-solving capability.

 

Knowing the difference can change the impact we have as change leaders.

 

Helping vs. Empowering: What Are You Really Trying to Create?

There's a difference between making a problem easier for someone today and helping them become more capable of solving problems tomorrow.

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When we always jump in with the answer, we can unintentionally create a cycle of dependence: people bring us problems, we solve them, and then we get frustrated when they don't solve problems independently.

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So how do we break that cycle without abandoning people who genuinely need our help?

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It starts with getting intentional about the outcome we're trying to create—and recognizing that the fastest solution isn't always the best way to build capability.

 

What If You Asked Instead?

The next time you feel that familiar urge to jump in with the answer, try pausing and asking yourself:

“What am I trying to create right now?”

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Are you trying to solve an urgent operational problem? Build someone's capability? Create ownership? Make their discomfort go away—or your own?

 

Depending on your answer, the right response might be very different.

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Instead of immediately offering a solution, try asking:

• “What have you tried so far?”

• “What do you think is happening?”

• “What options are you considering?”

• “What would you like to try next?”

• “Do you want me to help you think through this, or do you want me to help you solve it?”

 

These questions help you stop assuming what kind of help someone needs and give them more ownership over the problem-solving process.

 

Resistance Is Information, Too

Quickshift doesn't just try to fix operational problems. It can also make us want to fix resistance.

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Someone says, “I've tried this before,” and we explain how we'll do things differently. Someone says, “I'm not comfortable with this,” and we try to show them how easy it will be.

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But resistance might be telling us something important about the future someone imagines, what they're afraid of losing, or a legitimate risk they see.

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When we immediately try to eliminate resistance, we may never understand what it's telling us.

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The goal isn't to become less action-oriented or stop solving problems. It's to create enough space to choose a response that actually produces the outcome we want.

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The Big Takeaway

Your ability to solve problems can become a problem when solving becomes your automatic response.

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Quickshift isn't bad. It's the part of you that sees a problem and wants to create movement.

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But when Quickshift takes over, you can accidentally take away ownership, create dependence, skip understanding, and turn resistance into something you feel responsible for eliminating.

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You don't have to fix it just because you can.

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Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is help someone discover that they can solve it themselves.

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Your Experiment

For the next week, notice every time you feel the urge to jump in and fix something.

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You don't have to change your behavior yet. Just notice.

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Write down:

• What was happening?

• What did I immediately want to do?

• What was I hoping my fixing would create?

• What might have happened if I hadn't fixed it?

 

That last question might tell you a lot.

 

Links

Find Your ResistobotTM Quiz

Quickshift