This is the last part of the 4-part series on leadership inspired by Colin Powell’s Leadership Presentation.

Again, Powell said something remarkable:

“The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.”

Solve Their Problems

It’s so true. Imagine this is year 2020. You’re a general in a full blown war between the two most powerful military nations in the world. Your soldiers fight hard for survival and victory. Suddenly, one fine day, your soldiers stops bringing you problems so you’re all relaxed sitting in your own barrack. That’s not a good sign!

Leaders solve problems. You don’t want any more problems than you already have on your plate, nobody does. But, can you really escape from problem solving if you were the CEO of a start-up? What if you’re the platoon general? And what about the President of the United States of America? You wouldn’t think people would stop bringing problems to you, would you?

That’s exactly what Powell was talking about. If you’re trying to do anything remotely interesting, you’re bound to bump into a lot of problems. And you have to solve them. Your followers bring problems to you because they think you know what to do, they trust you.

Solve Their Personal Problems

Sometimes, the problems they bring to you might be personal, something that are totally unrelated to the work that you do. But it’s fine, because if you help them, it shows that you care. Everybody wants to feel some love, some attention, some touch. Even if you normally charge $500 an hour with your client, you won’t charge your own followers. Because it’s a gift. And they totally love that!

There’s nothing wrong for them to go up to you for guidance and advice, and likewise there’s nothing wrong for you to go up to your boss for the same thing. You’re all in the same boat, it’s better for everyone to get stronger so that you guys can row the boat faster. Remember, once you start charging, it’s a transaction. And anybody can make a transaction.

If They Don’t Find You, Seek Them Out

So what if they don’t have problems for you to solve because they don’t know they have one?

Seek them out.

Ask them what they’re struggling with. Understand their work and where they could improve. It’s tough to take the time from your busy schedule to ask others how they are doing, not to mention finding out what problems they have (and solve them!). But if you think the prize of being a great leader is really what you want, it’s totally worth the fight.

Some Stuffs You Should Do Now

1) Read Part 1 – Wake Up and Win, Part 2 – Piss People Off and Get Criticized, and Part 3 – Crucial Skills Experts Don’t Tell You.

2) Solve your soldiers’ problems, and don’t charge them.

3) Share some love by asking if they need help.

This is the end of my Colin Powell Leadership series. Feel free to leave your comments below!

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