The Magic Question - What Do You Recommend? with Ged and Milan

Welcome back to CardCast! Today, we’re going to be talking about What Do You Recommend?

Does your team come to you with every question?

Do you feel like progress slows the moment you’re unavailable?

This is usually not a people problem; it’s a leadership habit. Most leaders get promoted because they’re excellent at solving problems, so answering quickly feels helpful, efficient, and even generous. But over time, that instinct quietly trains teams to stop thinking and start asking for permission instead.

The conversation centers on a simple but counterintuitive shift: stop answering and start asking. When leaders respond to questions with “What do you recommend?”, something surprising happens.

In most cases, people already know the answer. They’re not lacking intelligence or skill; they’re lacking permission. By always providing solutions, leaders create dependency, learned helplessness, and ultimately become the bottleneck themselves.

The next time a question lands on your desk, pause, because the fastest way forward may be giving permission, not answers.

Key-Card points:
Consistently answering questions trains dependency
Asking, “What do you recommend?” unlocks confidence and capability.
Providing quick answers creates long-term bottlenecks
Great leadership uses results to develop people
Asking for recommendations reveals how your team thinks

Links & Resources
Veverka.ca
Crystalyzer.com



CardCast is produced by Lovemore Media.