You Want the Team to Step Up. But You Keep Stepping In.

The first weekly Leadership Check-in of the year, and it's a doozy: You want the team to step up. But you keep stepping in. 

The work lands in your inbox, but it's off the mark. The deadline is looming, so you give up your evening to make it right and get it out the door.

Of course you do. It IS faster. You ARE accountable for quality. And honestly, you probably CAN do it better right now. But over time, your team learns that everything needs the same level of polish, that speed beats skill-building, and that their work likely won't meet the bar so they stop trying to get there.

You're stuck in a loop. They can't move without you. And the capability gap you keep trying to close actually widens. A few questions to consider:

• Where could you let your team see your messy first draft so they understand iteration is the process, not a sign they got it wrong?

• Are you walking them through what matters and why, or assuming they'll pick up your standards by osmosis?

• What's one thing you'd normally handle that you could delegate - and what guidance will help them produce a solid first draft?

If this resonates, notice where stepping in has become habit—the risk feels too high to hand it off, but nothing actually changes unless you do.