“It’s just a shared office space issue,” the employee said, settling into the chair across from HR. A typical complaint about temperature settings and desk arrangements soon revealed a more troubling pattern. The supervisor had been avoiding all personnel decisions, from basic conflict resolution to legally required accommodations. What looked like a minor squabble was actually a red flag for serious compliance risks and leadership deficiencies across the organization.
This pattern—small issues signaling bigger problems—plays out constantly in organizations. Yet many leaders get it backwards. They either dive too deep into minor issues that could be handled by others, or dismiss small signals that deserve deeper investigation.
The contrast became especially clear during the COVID-19 crisis. One independent school leader understood instinctively which decisions needed direct attention and which could be delegated. When faced with rapid-fire challenges—from vaccination policies to classroom configurations—he focused energy on core safety and educational priorities while empowering his team to handle the details. The result was clear direction during chaos.
Compare this to “seagull leadership”—swooping in randomly to meddle in small decisions while larger strategic issues go unaddressed. In one organization, critical policies gather dust awaiting executive approval while those same executives spend hours debating office seating arrangements.
The challenge is particularly acute in the public sector, where local government and public safety departments often struggle without clear profit-and-loss metrics. Leaders can get caught spending precious time on minor political concerns while core mission improvements stall.
So how do we know which problems truly need leadership attention? Here’s what we’ve learned from both sides of this challenge:
- Look for Patterns, Not Just Problems When issues come to you, ask: Is this an isolated incident or a symptom of a systemic issue? That office space complaint might reveal a supervisor avoiding all kinds of decisions.
- Check Your Unique Value Can someone else handle this effectively? If yes, empower them to do so. Your time is best spent on issues that specifically need your authority or expertise.
- Follow the Risk Some small problems carry outsized risks. A minor accommodation request ignored today could become a major legal issue tomorrow. Learn to spot these hidden icebergs.
- Track Strategic Impact Will resolving this issue move the organization toward its core mission? In government especially, distinguish between political urgency and mission importance.
The most effective leaders aren’t necessarily better at solving problems—they’re better at identifying which problems actually need their attention. They understand that leadership isn’t about handling every issue; it’s about ensuring the right issues get the right attention from the right people.
That initial office space complaint could have ended with simple mediation. Instead, recognizing it as a symptom of deeper issues led to addressing systemic supervision problems affecting the entire organization.
The lesson? Sometimes leadership means diving deep into seemingly small issues because they signal bigger problems. Other times, it means deliberately stepping back from issues that feel urgent but don’t require senior intervention.
The art lies in knowing the difference.