Waiting On The Wrong Person

We’ve all sat in meetings, walked through hallways, or stared at inboxes overflowing with inefficiencies and thought, “Someone really needs to fix this.”

It’s a common refrain. It's comfortable, familiar, and completely misleading. Because more often than not, the “someone” we’re waiting on is a phantom. And the longer we wait, the more we unwittingly contribute to the very problem we recognize.

In most organizations, people are remarkably good at identifying obstacles. We see duplication of effort, outdated processes, broken communication channels, and decisions that seem to move at geological speed. Human beings are instinctively perceptive, especially when something affects our workflow, our time, or our sanity.

Yet, identifying a problem is the easiest part of progress. The harder, more uncomfortable part is deciding who should initiate change.

And this is where the true divide emerges, not between departments, generations, or job titles, but between mindsets.

The Habit Trap: Why We Wait at All

People often assume resistance to change is stubbornness, but it’s really familiarity masquerading as safety. We cling to routine, even unproductive routine, because it requires the least cognitive and emotional effort. We can point out inefficiencies all day long without ever feeling responsible for resolving them.

It’s much simpler to say, “They need to fix it,” without ever questioning who they actually are.

Followers, even well‑meaning ones, often live in this ambiguity. They see issues clearly but see ownership as someone else’s job. Identifying the problem becomes the accomplishment.

But that mindset is precisely what keeps organizations stagnant. When everyone is waiting on someone else, nobody moves.

Where Leadership Diverges

Leaders, by contrast, approach the same circumstances through a completely different lens.

When leaders see a broken process, they don’t stop at identification. They instinctively begin interrogating the problem:

• Where is this issue actually coming from?

• Who is impacted - really impacted - by this gap?

• What solution would remove the barrier rather than rearrange it?

• And what role should I play in changing it?

  
  

Leaders don’t assume the presence of a mythical “someone.”

They assume responsibility.

The difference is subtle but decisive:

Leaders treat recognition as the starting line. Followers treat it as the finish line.

The Most Overlooked Principle of Leadership: If You See It, You Own a Piece of It

There’s an uncomfortable truth here: the moment you can clearly articulate a problem, you’ve already demonstrated enough awareness and critical thinking to contribute to a solution.

And if you can contribute to a solution, you’re capable of initiating one.

That doesn’t mean taking over every project or storming into offices with demands. Leadership is rarely about authority, and always about influence. Sometimes initiating change means asking better questions. Sometimes it means drafting a proposal. Sometimes it means bringing the right people together, shining a light on the root causes, or modeling a different behavior long enough for others to follow.

Leaders understand that the first step is movement, not permission.

Why Leaders Don’t Wait

People often overestimate the risk of stepping forward and underestimate the cost of doing nothing. Organizations don’t stagnate because they lack intelligence or talent. They stagnate because too many people believe change starts elsewhere.

True leaders know better. They recognize that influence grows through action, not title.

If they make the first move, others will join - not out of obligation, but because people are drawn to clarity, initiative, and momentum.

Leadership, at its core, is a willingness to be the first person to act when everyone else is still discussing who should go first.

The Shift We Need

If organizational life feels slow, inefficient, or frustrating, it’s often because the wrong people are being expected to lead. Not because they’re incompetent, but because they’re invisible, imagined placeholders for problems we are capable of addressing ourselves.

The question isn’t “Who should fix this?”

The question is “What would happen if I started the process?”

When we stop waiting on the wrong person, we often discover we were the right person all along.

Dr. Neal McIntyre, DPA