When being good at fixing things keeps you from fixing the problem.

 When something gets messy, my instinct is to organise it.

A better spreadsheet. A clearer list. A follow-up. A system that makes sure information doesn't disappear.

Usually, that helps.

Earlier this year, I found myself doing more and more of it.

I was helping develop and coordinate a new concept within an event. There were exhibitors to find and coordinate, requirements to communicate, equipment and electricity needs to track, contacts to manage and plenty of moving pieces before the event itself.

Exactly the sort of situation where good organisation matters.

So, I organised it.

But things kept becoming messy again.

Instructions needed clarifying. Decisions changed. Exceptions were made. Information didn't always reach the people who needed it. Something that appeared settled could later become unsettled.

And every time that happened, I did what I'm good at.

I organised it.

Another follow-up. A clearer overview. A better way of keeping track of what had been agreed.

It worked.

That's the important bit.

The spreadsheets helped. The lists helped. Following up helped. Things that might otherwise have fallen through the cracks didn't.

But I eventually realised I was getting very good at managing complexity that kept being recreated.

And that changed the question.

Not:
How can I manage this better?

But:
Why do I keep having to manage this?

Someone who's very good with clients can keep shaky relationships on track through attention, responsiveness and sheer personal involvement.

Someone who's good at selling can explain an offer brilliantly in conversation even when the offer itself isn't particularly clear.

None of those strengths is the problem.

And because they work, the business keeps functioning.

Clients remain happy. Work gets delivered. Sales happen.

So you keep doing more of what works.

Sometimes that can go on for years.

Until doing more of what works starts requiring too much of you, or something changes and the compensation no longer works as well as it used to.

At that point, it can look as though something new has gone wrong.

But sometimes the underlying problem isn't new at all.

What's changed may simply be your ability, or willingness, to keep compensating for it.

That doesn't mean you should stop doing the things you're good at.

It means there may be another question worth asking when a strength seems to be working increasingly hard just to keep things functioning:

What is working because the business works that way?

And:

What is working because you keep making it work?