In partnership with
Leadership Challenge - "WHY DOES EVERYTHING LAND ON MY DESK?"
Answer: Because you trained them to bring everything to you.
You answer every question.
You solve every problem.
You make every decision.
Why would they do it themselves?
You taught them they don't have to.
You're the bottleneck.
You created this dynamic by being the hero.
Now you're drowning and blaming them.
This is your fault. You're addicted to being needed.
Question to Consider: What happens when you don't answer immediately?
Why: You're addicted to being needed.
They're addicted to you solving things.
Here's what's happening: someone has a question. You answer immediately. You think you're being helpful. You're not. You're teaching them to be helpless.
They learn: don't think, just ask.
So they keep asking.
Now everything lands on your desk.
Decisions.
Problems.
Questions.
All of it.
The cost? You're underwater.
Your team isn't growing.
They're not learning.
They're becoming more dependent.
Your best people leave because they can't make decisions. The ones who stay are the ones happy being told what to do.
You've built a team that can't function without you. All because you couldn't resist being the hero.
Action: Stop answering immediately this week.
When someone asks, say: "What do you think?"
Make them try.
Let them fail.
Coach them after.
Stop solving.
Start teaching.
It's slower at first.
Do it anyway.
Soon they'll stop asking and start solving. But you have to break the pattern first.
Stay Unfiltered,
— Andy
P.S. Every time you answer a question immediately, you steal their opportunity to think.
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