A few weeks ago, a colleague challenged me with a classic riddle:
There are two doors. One leads to heaven, the other to hell. Each door has a guardian—one always tells the truth, the other always lies. You may ask just one question to find the door to heaven. What do you ask?
It took me less than 10 minutes to solve it. The question is:
“If I were to ask the other guardian which door leads to heaven, which door would they point to?”
The beauty of the puzzle lies in its logic. No matter whom you ask, the answer will always point to the wrong door. And so, you simply choose the opposite.
That moment wasn’t just about clever wordplay—it sparked a deeper reflection for me: how much this resembles the world of leadership, especially in IT Operations.
Why Logic Matters in Leadership
In IT Operations, speed and clarity are non-negotiable. Outages, incidents, or even non-technical issues often force leaders to decide with incomplete information. In those high-pressure moments, logic and framing the right question make all the difference.
But leadership isn’t just about making a decision. It’s about:
- Evaluating scenarios: balancing best, worst, and likely outcomes.
- Mitigating risk: putting guardrails where possible.
- Accepting residual risk: owning the parts you cannot control.
- Taking responsibility: protecting the team if things don’t go as planned.
True leadership means carrying the weight of decisions so the team doesn’t have to.
The Broader Lesson: Seeing Beyond the Surface
The riddle teaches us that sometimes the answer lies not in what is said but in how the question is framed. In IT leadership, this translates into shifting perspective:
- Don’t just ask “Which option is safe?”—ask “Which risks can we afford, and which can we not?”
- Don’t only optimize for the system—optimize for both business outcomes and people.
- Don’t freeze in ambiguity—create clarity by breaking down what you do know.
By doing so, leaders turn complexity into manageable paths forward.
Leadership With Accountability and Empathy
A logical leader doesn’t hide behind decisions; they stand in front of them. When the outcome is less than ideal, they don’t deflect blame to the team. They protect their people, learn from the misstep, and improve the playbook for next time.
That’s how trust is built—and trust is the real currency of any high-performing IT organization.
Closing Thought
That simple puzzle reminded me that leadership is a blend of logic, perspective, and courage. Every day in IT Ops feels like standing before two doors—one leading to resolution, the other to escalation. The challenge is not only in choosing but in framing the choice well.
So let me pass the torch.
You have three boxes:
- one labeled Apples
- one labeled Oranges
- one labeled Mixed
You’re told all labels are wrong. You may pick one fruit from one box only. How do you relabel all three boxes correctly?
Footnotes
- Kahneman, D. — Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011).
- Klein, G. — Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions (1999).
- McKinsey — The Art of Making Tough Decisions in Uncertain Times.
