For those of you who took a Gordon Model workshop (L.E.T., P.E.T., Synergistic Selling, etc.), you will recall (I hope!) the concept of Problem Ownership.  For many of us--and maybe even most of us-our tendency, our desire--is to solve, fix things for other people when we see them struggling or they're upset (when they are in the "Other Owns" area of our Behavior Window).

Our aim is to help and to ease their pain, right?  Or perhaps...this problem-solving thing we do is really to ease our own pain, because we're too uncomfortable with the situation the other person is experiencing?  Or maybe it's officially a part of our job right?  To solve problems.  If I am a leader or a manager or a parent--that's what I do--I fix stuff so we can all get along with our lives right?