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Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic: “Fixes That Fail”
Like the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 is a real-time case study in leadership best (and worst) practices. Consequently, leaders at all levels have an opportunity to learn valuable lessons during this global crisis to better prepare themselves for future crises.
What follows is the second in a series of articles highlighting those leadership lessons. The first article focused on accurately identifying which of the three types of problems leaders face. This one is a direct follow up and examines the serious consequences of leaders misidentifying the type of problem they’re dealing with and subsequently creating more (and potentially worse) problems with their solutions — a phenomenon called “Fixes That Fail.”
“Fixes That Fail”
“Fixes That Fail” occur when a complex problem (Type II or Type III) cries out for well-thought-out, long-term solutions. However, leaders mistakenly view it as a simple Type I problem (Clear Problem/Clear Solution) and quickly implement a fix.
This quick fix may alleviate the symptom(s) — but not the actual problem. Furthermore, the fix creates unintended consequences that cause the real problem to either return to its previous level or (more likely) make it worse. The fix also creates…
