Hey Unfiltered Folks,

Answer: Because you let your team avoid hard conversations.

When there's a conflict or tough call, you step in. You do the dirty work.

So they never learn. Now they bring you every hard conversation.
You're not being a leader. You're being their emotional shield.

This is your failure.

You're protecting them from leadership. Every time you step in, you steal their growth.

Question to Consider: Why do you step in instead of coaching them through it?

Why: Stepping in feels like helping. It's not. It's stealing their growth.

Here's what's happening: there's a conflict. Or a hard conversation. Your manager brings it to you. Instead of coaching them to handle it, you do it for them.

You think you're helping. You're not. You're teaching them they don't have to handle hard things.

They learn: escalate to the boss. The boss will do it. So they keep escalating.

The cost? You're drowning in hard conversations.
Your managers aren't growing.
They can't handle conflict.
They can't have tough talks.
So they'll never be real leaders.
They'll always need you.

Your best managers leave because they can't grow under you. The ones who stay are the ones comfortable hiding behind you.

You've built a layer of managers who can't manage. All because you couldn't resist stepping in. You wanted to be the hero. You became their crutch.

Action: Stop stepping in.

Next time someone brings you a hard conversation, coach them through it. "Here's how you handle it. Here's what you say. Now go do it."

Let them handle it.
They'll probably mess it up.
Coach them after.
But make them do it.

Repeat until they can handle hard conversations without you.

That's how you build leaders.

Stay Unfiltered,
— Andy

P.S. Your best managers leave because they can't grow under you. The ones who stay are the ones comfortable hiding behind you.