You’re a leader. That means you don’t just solve problems—you develop problem solvers. (Or at least… you should.)

But here’s the truth: not everyone on your team thinks like a problem solver—yet. That’s where you come in.

Leadership expert John Maxwell—author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and mentor to leaders around the globe—describes four types of people when it comes to handling problems:

Problem Enlargers – They make it worse. Drama, blame, chaos… like pouring gas on a grease fire.

Problem Magnets – They focus on problems, collect them, multiply them, and attract other problem seekers. (One problem becomes five—and then a group chat.)

Problem Quitters – They just give up. Hit a wall? Shrug and walk away.

Problem Solvers – They lean in, learn, adapt, and use problems as stepping stones.

Your job isn’t to label and dismiss. It’s to notice and coach. You’re either growing problem solvers—or you’re babysitting problem repeaters.

To help you get a clear picture of how your team shows up when challenges hit, I created a Problem Solver Snapshot Worksheet you can use to identify how each person on your team tends to respond to problems so you can create a coaching plan to level them up. 

👉 Download the Problem Solver Snapshot Worksheet

Encourage. Equip. Expect. That’s how leaders create problem solvers.