01
Facilitator, not fixer
You don't need every answer. Your job is to ask good questions, create space for thinking and help the team find its own way forward.
The approach
Leading one step behind
Most leadership advice tells you to be out in front. The solution-focused approach does the opposite: you stay one step behind your team — close enough to support, far enough back that they can lead the work themselves.
In practice
What it means in practice
Leading one step behind isn't stepping away. It's a deliberate shift in where you put your attention: less on diagnosing problems, more on what people want instead — and what's already moving in that direction.
It comes from solution-focused practice, and it fits small businesses well. There's no big change programme to run, no new layer of process. It shows up in how you run a meeting, respond to a setback and talk about what comes next.
Four principles
The habits behind the approach
02
Trust the team
The people closest to the work usually know the most about it. Give them room to decide, and stay close enough to support.
03
Build on strengths
Instead of digging into what's broken, notice what already works well — then do more of it, more often, with more people.
04
Small, clear steps
Change sticks when the next step is obvious and doable. One small, visible improvement beats a big plan nobody starts.
“What works — and how can we do more of it?”
Who it's for
Built for people who lead small teams
LOSB is made for people who lead small teams without a big support structure around them — and who want something they can use on Monday morning.
SME owners
Founders and owner-managers who wear many hats and want their team to carry more.
Managers
Middle managers balancing day-to-day delivery with developing people.
Team leaders
First-time and experienced team leads looking for practical habits, not theory.