To be able to solve a problem an individual needs to determine what aspects of that problem find themselves within his control. These he can handle by himself. However, that might not be the best use of his time.

If he has people around himself, that he can influence, a better use of his time might be to use his understanding of the problem to discover how others or where others might be able to contribute to solving the given problem.

His problem now changed into discussing the problem with others in such a way that they understand what share of the problem they are tasked to solve and how their share of the work contributes to solving a problem larger than themselves.

How this can be done depends on the leadership style one wants to take up, on the relationship with those that can be influenced as well as on the type of problem.

But it also depends on the competence the leader has and the trust he puts in those he can influence.

Some leaders understand the problem so well that it is easy for them to split it up and ask others to do very specific tasks. Sometimes even describing how these tasks should be performed. Other leaders have the competence to organize the teams relying on the individual expertise in the teams while knowing what the team can deliver.

But there are also situations in which the task is so well understood that it can be organized in a variety of processes that the leader or the teams then seek to coordinate. When it comes to innovation, the situation will be different as no one has the competence to describe the resulting product. That is when the leader and the teams need to accept their sense of not knowing and use their competence of learning on the way.