Why Do We Explore Excuses Before We Explore Solutions?

One of the most common patterns I hear when talking with managers and leaders is not a lack of effort or desire, but a lack of exploration. Lack of being curious.

People often tell me why they are stuck. They explain why something won’t work. They detail why circumstances are against them and/or their team.

What I hear far less often is someone deeply exploring the problem itself or searching relentlessly for a solution.

Instead of curiosity, I hear certainty. Instead of investigation, I hear justification. Instead of ownership, I hear excuses to often. Instead of commitment, I hear reluctance.

That raises an important question, which I have thought about for months: Why do we default to excuses before solutions?

The Comfort of the Familiar

Excuses feel safe.

Solutions demand effort, risk, and discomfort. When we articulate an excuse, we are often protecting ourselves, not from failure, but from vulnerability. Exploring solutions requires us to admit we don’t have all the answers, that we may need help, and that change might be required. Excuses allow us to preserve our current identity. Solutions often require us to grow beyond it.

It’s easier to say:

• “I don’t have time.”

• “I wasn’t given the resources.”

• “That won’t work here.”

• “I’ve tried that before.”

• “We apply the same response to the problem and expect a different outcome.”

These statements feel final. They shut down inquiry, curiosity. And most importantly, they relieve us of responsibility, at least temporarily.

Excuses Answer the Question We Didn’t Ask

Excuses typically answer the question “Why can’t I?”

Solutions require us to ask better questions:

• What’s actually getting in the way?

• What have I not tried yet?

• What assumptions am I making?

• Who else has solved something similar?

• What is within my control right now?

• Why did this happen?

When we don’t slow down to explore challenges, we skip straight to conclusions. We mistake familiarity for truth and emotion for fact.

Leaders, managers, coaches especially experienced ones, can fall into this trap quickly.

Expertise can often create blind spots if curiosity is replaced by certainty.

The Cost of Not Exploring

When we stop at excuses, we pay a potentially heavy price:

·      Growth stalls

·      Innovation suffers

·      Accountability erodes

·      Teams become reactive instead of proactive

·      Trust diminishes: Lack of exploration can lead to skepticism and reduced team morale.

·      Communication breaks down: Without open dialogue, misunderstandings and misalignments increase.

·      Adaptability declines: In a changing environment, failure to explore can render teams inflexible.

·      Decision-making becomes stagnant: Relying on certainty can lead to poor or outdated choices.

·      Diversity of thought weakens: Without curiosity, diverse perspectives are often overlooked.

·      Engagement falls: Team members may feel uninspired or undervalued when exploration is absent.

Over time, this mindset becomes contagious. If leaders model excuse‑making, teams follow suit. Conversations frequently shift from “How might we?” to “Here’s why we can’t.”

That shift quietly drains energy and engagement from organizations and relationships alike.

Exploring Isn’t Ignoring Reality

Let’s be clear: exploring solutions does not mean ignoring constraints or pretending challenges don’t exist…100% not what I’m saying.

Exploring means understanding reality fully, not selectively.

It means asking:

• What part of this challenge is fixed?

• What part is flexible?

• What was impacted and how based on action taken?

• What influence do I truly have?

• What am I avoiding confronting?

• What can I own?

Exploration recognizes obstacles without worshiping them.

From Excuses to Exploration: A Simple Reframe

Here’s a practical reframe I encourage and have used several times:

“Before stating an excuse, require yourself, or your team to articulate three potential solutions, even if they seem imperfect.” Get these out of your head and onto paper or a dry erase board.

This changes the internal dialogue from:

“This won’t work because…”

to:

“What could work, even partially if we tried…if we applied pressure?”

Momentum begins not with certainty, but with curiosity.

Leaders, Managers Set the Tone

As leaders, managers, THE responsibility is not to have all the answers, it’s to model the pursuit of them.

“When leaders explore before explaining, teams feel permission to think. We can create and foster this dialogue. When leaders ask better questions, teams give better answers. When leaders resist excuses, growth follows.”

The most effective leaders I’ve worked with don’t accept “stuck” as a final state. They treat it as a signal, an invitation to explore deeper, ask harder questions, and challenge assumptions a little bit longer.

A Question Worth Sitting With

So, here’s the question I’ll leave you with:

The next time you feel stuck, will you explore the problem, or explain it?

Because the path you choose determines whether you and/or your team stays where you are or moves forward intentionally.

“Growth doesn’t start with answers. It starts with the courage to explore.”

Always remember ELITE TEAMS solve problems...Ordinary TEAMS don't.

#staycurious #committed #eliteteam