You’ve tried harder, you’ve tried differently, and the conflict keeps coming back. In this episode, Dr. David Zierk reframes one of leadership’s most frustrating experiences: The problems that resist every solution you throw at them. Not because you’re failing—but because you’re solving the wrong type of problem. Learn to distinguish what should be fixed, what must be managed, and what can only be navigated—and why that difference changes everything.
Highlights
→ Why “ABC thinking” works brilliantly for broken appliances and scheduling mix-ups—and fails spectacularly when applied to structural human tensions like conflicting values, leadership styles, or hardwired personality differences.
→ The difference between solvable, manageable, and unsolvable problems—and the costly misdiagnosis that turns manageable friction into endless escalation.
→ Four practices for navigating what cannot be resolved: recognition, regulation, mutual accommodation, and meaning making—and why they form a loop instead of a finish line.
