Hi Friend
Welcome to your weekly dose of personal and career fuel!
We spend the first half of our careers trying to become experts. We want to be the person with the answers, the one people come to when things get complicated. It feels good to be the smartest person in the room.
But as you move into higher levels of leadership, that expertise becomes a trap.
If you are always providing the solution, you aren't leading. You are just a bottleneck with a fancy title. You are inadvertently training your team to stop thinking and start waiting.
Let's get started.
This week's action: The "Don't Answer" Challenge. The next time a team member comes to you with a problem they are capable of solving, do not give them the answer. Even if you have it. Instead, ask one question: "What is the specific hurdle stopping you from making this decision yourself?"
Why this matters: Leadership isn't about being the source of knowledge. It is about being the builder of capability.
When you provide the answer, you win the moment but lose the long game. You stay busy, your team stays dependent, and the organization plateaus. When you refuse to answer, you force your team to develop their own judgment. You create space for yourself to focus on the high level strategy that actually moves the needle for 2026.
How to step back without losing control:
Identify the "Expert Itch": Notice the physical urge to jump in and solve it. That is your ego talking, not your leadership.
Validate the Person, Not the Problem: Say, "I trust your judgment on this. Walk me through how you're thinking about it."
Focus on the Process: Don't ask what they will do. Ask how they arrived at that choice.
Like what you’ve read?
The hardest part of leadership is letting go of the work that made you successful in the first place. It’s an uncomfortable shift, and most people never quite make it. If you’re ready to stop being a "super-doer" and start being a true leader of leaders, let’s connect.
