The Serial Fixer: How Over-Solving Undermines Leadership

If you subscribe to an open-door policy as a leader, you're doing it wrong. What has often been praised, especially in the HR profession, as accessibility and availability can actually signal a deeper issue: serial fixing. 

This habit shows up when leaders constantly and prematurely jump in to solve problems, taking on every question, concern, or hiccup that crosses their path. In those moments, the open door isn't a sign of strong leadership, it's a sign you're stuck in fixer-mode. And while it comes from good intentions, serial fixing leads to compassion fatigue, quietly draining leaders and weakening their teams.

How Serial Fixing Shows Up in the Workplace

Serial fixing is more than being helpful or responsive — it's a reflex. It's the leader who swoops in to mediate a conflict, offer advice, or share solutions before team members have had the chance to work it out themselves. It's the manager who stays late rewriting someone else's report instead of offering guidance on how to improve it. It's the HR professional who says yes to every request, no matter how far outside their role, because they equate availability with value. 

It’s not as simple as just saying "no." Setting boundaries goes deeper than that. At its core, serial fixing is driven by internal narratives such as, "If I don't solve this, I'm not being a good leader. If I'm not stressed, I must not be working hard enough. If I'm not always available, I'm not helpful". These are powerful, persistent beliefs, but they're misleading. They keep leaders tethered to the urgent instead of the important, creating a cycle of exhaustion and frustration.

On the surface, serial fixing looks like commitment. Behind the scenes, it creates relentless pressure, and let's be honest, that pressure often seeps into life outside of work, too. Leaders who assume false ownership end up carrying more than their share of responsibility. They respond reactively instead of strategically, and they measure their effectiveness by how much they solve instead of how much they empower. The very behavior meant to demonstrate leadership ends up undermining it.

The Problem Behind Serial Fixing

And the costs don't stop with the leader. When a manager consistently takes over, team members lose the opportunity to build confidence in their own problem-solving skills. They're robbed of ownership of their responsibilities and the resilience that comes from working through challenges. We all start from different places depending on age, experience, and upbringing. 

On the surface, it can feel easier to just do it yourself rather than give feedback or initiate a potentially uncomfortable conversation. But it's not the role of leaders to coddle or take on responsibility for their team's mental state. It is their responsibility to model and fuel a culture that praises directness, ownership, and the "reps" it takes to build confidence.  

Otherwise, team members become skilled at scanning the environment for who will save them and structure their chaos, rather than developing the "muscles" to navigate it themselves. Over time, this creates micro-dependencies. Team members wait for the leader to step in rather than stepping up themselves. Accountability blurs, and growth is stunted. Conversations that boost EQ and self-awareness are put on the back burner, leaving someone (generally the same individual) to pick up the pieces.

Shift from Solving to Supporting

The alternative for HR executives isn't practicing withdrawal or indifference, it's shifting from solving to supporting. I call this "support, don't solve." The most effective leaders know how to meet people and problems where they are instead of rushing ahead to step 10 before the first step is clear. They begin by validating and refraining from the urge to immediately fix. 

Help employees think through options and create space for them to own their solutions. Support says "I'm here to support you, but the work is still yours." This approach removes unproductive emotional dumping and sets the precedent that team members need to do some work before 1:1s or other interventions, rather than hoping the leader will immediately soothe and structure the situation.

Actions for HR leaders to support, not solve:

• Become aware of your own patterns. When do you feel the urge to jump in? What stories are you telling yourself about what it means to be a good leader? How do you react when you see someone struggling? Do you coach, or do you rescue? By collecting this kind of data, leaders can catch themselves before sliding into fixer mode. 
• Pause before you respond. Take a moment to ask yourself: Am I supporting, or am I solving? 
• Ask your team thoughtful questions. What options have you considered? What do you think the first step might be? 
• Resist acting with urgency. Teams often reflect the emotional state of their leaders, and your calm presence can reset the tone. 
• Clarify ownership. Reframe your role as a guide, not the firefighter. And perhaps most importantly, redefine what success looks like. It isn't about how many problems you personally solve, it's about how many people you empowered to solve their own.

Create space for your boundaries. When leaders don't have time or capacity at the moment, support can sound like, "I can see this is important, and I want to give you my full attention. Let's find a time later today or this week." This approach models healthy boundaries, encourages preparation, balances urgency with reason, and preserves ownership of the problem.

Leadership is not about proving your worth through constant fixing. It’s about cultivating the conditions where others can succeed. Serial fixing may start from good intentions, but it quickly erodes both leader effectiveness and team capacity. The leaders who thrive are those who learn to support without solving, to empower rather than rescue, and to set boundaries that protect their energy while preserving their team’s ownership. By stepping back from fixer mode, you create space for growth, resilience, and sustainable leadership, for yourself and for those you lead. 
 

Leah Marone, licensed clinical social worker, is a psychotherapist at Yale and corporate mental wellness consultant with over 20 years of experience. A former Division 1 athlete, she specializes in high achievers struggling with imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and performance anxiety. Her new book, Serial Fixer, explores the hidden patterns of over-functioning and how to break free.