Be honest.
The last time something went wrong at work – maybe you missed a deadline, a teammate disappeared mid-project, your boss asked for a mysterious meeting, your manager changed for the nth time, or your calendar suddenly had five conflicting priorities, or someone butted into your territory and hogged your credit – what was your first reaction?
Did you feel more like A, B, or C?
[Tell me in the comments before reading the rest of the article! And don’t change your answer after reading it.]
Okay, so there’s no right or wrong answer. It’s just how your brain reacts when a sudden challenge appears in front of you.
If you chose A, you probably panic and think quickly, sending your mind into overdrive.
If you chose B, you’re that person who loves to solve problems fast and feels proud of being proactive, decisive, and a doer!
If you chose C, you’re someone who likely stays calm like a Zen master while a tsunami of thoughts crashes in your head.
If you are thinking someone is better than you, because they are problem solvers, or if you take pride in being the problem solver, especially the moment a crisis happens, take a pause.
What if I told you, problem-solving isn’t always the smartest immediate next move.
Let’s get real about our reflex:
You’re in a meeting when someone throws out a challenge. Everyone looks to you. Your body tenses up, and your mind races. You either panic, or step into the problem solver role, or become calm like the sky before a massive storm!
Neither of these is a productive response, not even when you take pride in solving the problem at hand and move quickly.
Even though fixing things fast has become a badge of leadership and a bragging right. Even though we’ve been conditioned to believe that the faster we react, the better we lead.
Quick problem-solving is ≠ a great leadership trait.
Sometimes, that problem-solving process can be a trap.
Think about this: if your bathroom had a leaky pipe and you kept mopping it up instead of checking where the leak is coming from, would you say that’s problem-solving? Or just good mop management?
If you genuinely wanted to find out the leak and fix it once and for all, wouldn’t it require time, effort, deliberation, the proper process, the right tools, and maybe an expert who can do it for you?
Why Problem-Solving Might Be Holding You Back:
Here’s the tricky bit: mopping the floor once or twice may be satisfying, or even productive. But when the problem repeats more than you can tolerate, you are bound to question the efficacy of the solution, and soon enough, it will burn you out if it has not been solved effectively.
That’s when the negative chatter may mess up your mind.
“I can’t afford to mess this up again.”
“If I don’t fix this, I’ll lose credibility.”
“Why is it always me cleaning up the mess?”
Sound familiar?
This is where most SOPs (Standard Operating Processes) silently fail. They train us to react, but not to reframe. They push for brute resilience, but don’t teach us to respond with the right mindset, processes, and tools.
What Actually Works?
A carefully crafted Setback SOP that’s tailored to you and your needs. The one you create long before you hit the wall. The one you turn to before Slack pings sends your blood pressure into orbit.
Using the three-step process below, you develop your own effective and productive Setback SOP. An SOP that addresses the root cause of the challenge, rather than merely applying a superficial patchwork.
- Mindset Reset: Shift the narrative
Instead of charging in with solutions, pause. What story are you telling yourself? Is it helping or hurting? Are you solving the external issue or managing internal panic? Is this a temporary fix or a permanent solution to a recurring problem? - Process Revamp: Own your response
Do you know how you typically respond to setbacks? Do you over-function? Withdraw? Start 27 tabs and call it multitasking? Your current SOP might be muscle memory, which may not even be helping you. In that case, build a Setback SOP that works! - Build Your Tools Arsenal: Prepare for the Next Storm
It isn’t about stockpiling stress balls. It’s about having real, actionable tools, reflection prompts, self-coaching scripts, specific techniques to bounce forward, short breathing resets, and mental rehearsals for tough conversations.
Because let’s face it, your next challenge is not an “if” but a “when.” And reacting with a duct tape fix might get you through the moment, but it won’t build resilience for the long run.
Still Not Convinced? Let’s Run a Quick Test:
Think back to a recent challenge. Ask yourself:
- Did you feel at ease when you solved the problem?
- Did your mind scream, I could do better than this?
- Did you feel in control or on autopilot?
- Did your reaction move the issue forward, or make it disappear temporarily?
- Did you see a similar challenge coming back despite you solving it?
Your answers to these questions will define if it’s time to audit your SOP.
Because how you respond to adversity defines your leadership much more than how you perform on a good day.
A good report or presentation doesn’t impress anyone if you cracked under pressure last week in silence. High productivity means little if you leave emotional damage behind for your team or family to clean up! And a strong LinkedIn bio won’t save you from team disengagement or burnout.
If the challenge you’re dealing with isn’t entirely and once and for all solved, then it’s no problem solving. You need a Setback SOP that helps you shift your inner story, rewire your response, and build a toolkit that doesn’t break the moment things get messy.
Setbacks are not the enemy. The real enemy? Thinking your faulty reflexes are enough.
So ask yourself: Is your current way of responding to challenges helping you lead better, or just helping you appear better?
If it’s the latter, maybe it’s time to do what all great leaders do.
Reset. Revamp. Rewire.
It’s your moment to rewrite your story; your leadership legacy could be waiting on the next page.
