Hey Unfiltered Folks,

Answer: Because you trained them.

You do everything.
You answer every question.
You solve every problem.

Why would they work more? You taught them they don't have to.

You're the problem.

You created this dynamic by being the hero. Now they're spectators. This is your fault. You're addicted to being needed. They're comfortable letting you do the work.

Stop being the hero. Start being the coach.

Question to Consider: What happens when you don't answer their questions immediately?

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— Back —

Why: You're addicted to being needed. They're comfortable letting you do the work.

Here's what's actually happening: someone has a question. You answer it instantly.
Someone hits a problem. You solve it immediately.
Someone needs a decision. You make it.

You think you're being helpful. You're not.
You're training them to be helpless.

They've learned: if I wait, the boss will do it. So they wait. They ask questions instead of figuring it out. They escalate problems instead of solving them.

Meanwhile, you're drowning in 80-hour weeks. You resent them. But you created this.

The cost? You're burned out. Your team isn't growing. They're not learning. They're not becoming leaders. They're becoming more dependent.

Your best people leave because they can't grow under you. The ones who stay are the ones happy to be told what to do forever.

You've built a team of children. All because you couldn't resist being the hero.

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— Back —

Action: Stop answering questions immediately.

When someone asks, say: "What do you think?"
Make them think. Make them try. Let them fail. Coach them after.

Stop solving their problems.
Start coaching them to solve problems on their own.
It'll be slower at first. Do it anyway.

You're building leaders, not assistants.

Stay Unfiltered,
— Andy

P.S. Stop being the hero. Start being the coach.

P.S.S. Buy my book to get 75 of the most painful leadership problems and fixes.