Don’t Bring Solutions: How Great Leaders Surface Problems First

 “The best change feels discovered, not delivered.”

Many leaders are overwhelmed at the end of the year.

The calendar is crowded. Testing has drained energy. Staffing questions are emerging. Ceremonies, discipline issues, parent communication, hiring, budgets, and a hundred small fires compete for attention. In that environment, next year can feel far away.

So planning gets delayed.

Some leaders wait until summer. Others wait until August.

Good leaders know better. They start planning for next year before this year ends. They begin thinking about schedules, priorities, staffing moves, and key initiatives while there is still time.

But great leaders go one step further.

They understand that planning systems is not enough. They begin preparing people.

They use these final weeks to help staff recognize problems worth solving so that future change feels logical, timely, and shared.

That is how next year starts with momentum instead of resistance.

The end of the year is not just a closing season. It is also a diagnostic season.

When leaders slow down long enough to reflect with staff, patterns become clearer. People are honest about what was hard. Successes are easier to identify. Frustrations that stayed hidden during the rush of the year finally come into focus.

That makes this one of the best times to do work that many leaders skip: surfacing problems before proposing solutions.

Too often, leaders spend time designing answers.

Great leaders spend time helping people see the questions.

Leaders Provide Solutions. Change Agents Surface Problems.

One of the most important secrets of a change agent is this:

Leaders provide solutions.Change agents surface problems.

That statement can sound counterintuitive. After all, leaders are expected to solve problems. They are often promoted because they are decisive, capable, and action-oriented.

But many school improvement efforts fail for a simple reason:

The solution arrived before people understood the need.

When that happens, even smart decisions can feel unnecessary or imposed. Staff may politely comply, but commitment remains shallow.

People rarely resist change itself. More often, they resist change that feels disconnected from their lived experience.

Why Logical Ideas Still Meet Resistance

Every leader has experienced this moment.

You identify a change that clearly makes sense. You explain the rationale. You lay out the benefits. You believe you are helping.

And yet the room feels flat.

Questions emerge immediately. Energy drops. Concerns multiply.

The instinct is often to explain more. Defend more. Push harder.

But resistance is usually a signal, not a character flaw. It often means people have not yet fully connected to the problem the solution is trying to solve.

From the leader’s perspective, the answer is obvious.

From the staff perspective, the need is still blurry.

The Better Path: Start With Reflection

Great leaders know that ownership begins long before implementation.

Instead of opening with solutions, they open with reflection. They create space for staff to examine what is working, what is not, and where barriers are getting in the way of stronger outcomes.

That reflection might come through faculty meetings, leadership teams, PLC conversations, walkthrough trends, surveys, or informal dialogue. The format matters less than the posture.

The posture is curiosity.

Helpful prompts might include:

• Where did implementation feel harder than expected?

• What slowed student progress this year?

• What systems made strong teaching harder?

• What support would have made the biggest difference?

• What is one challenge we should solve before next year?

When people are invited into honest reflection, they often surface issues leaders already sensed—but now the ownership is shared.

A Real Example: Master Schedule Change

Imagine a principal who believes the master schedule needs to change next year.

Maybe the newly adopted curriculum requires longer instructional blocks. Maybe pacing has been rushed. Maybe teachers have struggled to use materials deeply because time keeps cutting lessons short.

The principal could simply announce a new schedule in August.

• That may solve the logistical issue.

• But it may also create unnecessary resistance.

Now imagine another path.

During end-of-year reflection, teachers discuss the first year of implementation. They talk about skipped components, rushed lessons, and the challenge of using the curriculum effectively within the current structure.

Gradually, a shared realization emerges:

“We need more time to implement the curriculum effectively.”

Now the schedule conversation changes entirely.

The same structural move is no longer an administrative decision being handed down. It has become a response to a problem staff helped identify.

The schedule may still change either way, but the second version creates understanding, trust, and momentum. That difference matters.

And, if you're thinking this sounds like a leader just manipulating staff into a decision, it's important to recognize that the process of surfacing problems is not about having pre-determined solutions. As a leader, I may belief a schedule change is necessary, but I have to recognize that it may not be. As we surface problems, we may come to realize that the problem is actually the way teachers are implementing the new materials or that while pacing was a problem early in the year, which caused the whole year to be behind schedule, the last few units were great. Teachers had figured it out already and no change is necessary.

Surfacing problems requires leaders genuinely want to discover what is working and what is not. They should have possible ideas (as a leader you are in a position to see a bigger picture), but we have to honestly recognize that we might be wrong and there may be other problems or other solutions.

How Great Leaders Surface Problems Well

Surfacing problems is not passive leadership. It requires thoughtful preparation and disciplined listening.

Reflect Before the Meeting

Strong leaders come in aware of likely issues. They review data, observe patterns, and think honestly about where systems may be limiting progress.

They prepare insights privately—but they do not rush to announce them publicly. And, the recognize that they may be wrong!

Listen for Themes, Not Just Comments

Not every frustration is the issue.

The real work often sits underneath repeated comments:

• “We never had enough time.”

• “Communication was unclear.”

• “Interventions felt fragmented.”

• “Expectations changed too often.”

Patterns point to root problems.

Name the Problem Clearly

Once themes emerge, leaders help teams articulate them simply and accurately.

Examples:

• We need more time to implement the curriculum effectively.

• Our intervention structures are too fragmented.

• Staff communication lacks consistency.

• Students need stronger transition routines.

Clear problems create better solutions.

Then Co-Create the Next Step

Only after the problem is visible should solutions move center stage. At that point, brainstorming feels productive rather than performative. Staff are solving something real, not reacting to something announced.

Why This Work Matters Before Summer

Timing is one of the hidden advantages of doing this now.

When staff help surface problems before leaving for summer:

• The issue stays in their thinking

• Informal conversations continue naturally

• New ideas feel less sudden in August

• Solutions feel connected to real needs

• Resistance decreases before rollout begins

This is why so many successful school years are shaped in late spring.

The best August starts in May.

Simple Reflection Protocol

If you want to begin this work, gather a team and ask:

1. What worked better than expected this year?

2. Where did implementation feel difficult?

3. What barriers limited stronger results?

4. What support or structures would help next year?

5. What problem is worth solving together first?

One honest conversation can unlock an entire year of progress.

Average leaders announce change.

Good leaders organize change.

Great leaders prepare people for change by helping them discover why it is needed.

They know that solutions without ownership create compliance at best.

But when people help surface the problem, change starts to feel less like pressure and more like progress.

That is one of the true secrets of a change agent.

Discussion Question

What challenge in your building may need less explanation—and more reflection so people can see it clearly for themselves?