Move from Rescuer to Strategist

It is 6:00 PM on a Friday. The office is emptying, but you are still at your desk, meticulously redoing a slide deck for a colleague or troubleshooting a project that isn't even yours. You tell yourself you’re "saving the day" or being the ultimate team player. In reality, you are playing the role of the Fixer.

While the Fixer role feels noble, it is a silent burden that prevents you from the very thing you work so hard to achieve: the ability to Forge Your Path toward senior leadership. As a strategic coach, I see this daily, high-performers who stall out because they have become the office hero. True professional value comes from solving the right problems, not every problem.

One of the most dangerous consequences of being a fixer is falling into the "Reputation Trap." When you are constantly available to pick up the slack, your professional identity shifts. You become known for "maintenance" - the person who keeps the wheels from falling off -rather than "innovation."

In the eyes of executive leadership, there is a massive gulf between a visionary and a janitor. While maintenance keeps the lights on, it rarely leads to a promotion. If your schedule is dominated by fighting "small fires", you are effectively making it impossible to focus on the high-priority, strategic tasks that demonstrate your value.

"Leaders are promoted for their vision, not just for picking up the slack."

To Forge Your Path, you must prioritize work that moves the needle. If you are perpetually stuck fixing yesterday’s mistakes, you will never have the bandwidth to seize tomorrow’s opportunities.

In workplace psychology, we use the "Drama Triangle" to explain this behavior. The Fixer occupies the role of the "Rescuer." This isn't just about being helpful; it is often an intrusive habit where you offer help that no one actually asked for.

This drive usually stems from internal psychology - a fear of inadequacy or a self-worth that is tied exclusively to being the "problem solver." However, this creates two significant risks:

Though you believe you are supporting your colleagues, you are likely creating dependency and learned helplessness. When a Fixer is always present, the team stops learning. They stop thinking critically because they know you will eventually step in to "save" them.

This creates a "hero-victim dynamic" that is ultimately unsustainable. Rather than feeling grateful, your teammates may begin to feel incompetent or controlled. Over time, this erodes their confidence and leads to deep-seated resentment. They don't feel supported; they feel enabled in their own stagnation.

By constantly "saving the day," you are the primary reason your organization remains dysfunctional. This is the most forceful truth of the Fixer role: you are masking systemic issues.

When you bridge the gap caused by a failing process or an underperforming department, management never sees the root cause.

Your "heroism" acts as a temporary bandage that prevents the organization from evolving. For a system to be fixed at a structural level, the failure must be visible. By hiding the cracks, you ensure the building never gets the foundation it needs to grow.

Moving from a Fixer to a Strategist is a rebranding exercise. This is not a failure of helpfulness; it is the adoption of a more sustainable and higher form of leadership.

To break the cycle, you must shift from doing the work to providing the tools:

Professional growth requires creating space. You cannot move into a higher-level role if your hands are always full of other people’s unfinished work. Letting go of problems that are not yours to solve is not an act of negligence - it is a requirement for leadership.

The best leaders do not hold everything together themselves. They build teams that are strong enough to function without them.

By choosing to release, you create the necessary space for your own career path and for your team’s ultimate success.

Next time you are tempted to jump in and save a project, pause and ask yourself: "Is this mine to fix, or mine to release?"