11d • Chat
The moment I realized I accidentally trained my team to rely on me
I’m sitting in my office eating lunch when a customer walks in with a MacBook.
Before I even stand up, one of my guys points at me and says, “Go see him, he’s the Mac expert.”
And I watch it happen in real time.
They’re not handing it to me because they can’t fix it. They’re handing it to me because it’s easier.
The customer says it’s a software issue, but the second I look at it, I can tell it’s a network problem. Five minutes later, it’s fixed.
And honestly… the rest of the team could’ve figured it out in ten.
But they didn’t even try. They just deflected it straight to me.
And that’s when it hits me:
I trained them to do that.
Every time I stepped in because it was “faster,” I taught them to step back. Every time I solved something for them, I taught them not to solve it themselves.
Seeing it happen right in front of me was the wake‑up call. Not because they needed me… but because they believed they needed me.
And that’s not how teams grow.
WHAT I’M CHANGING
Starting now:
- I’m not jumping in when they can handle it
- I’m asking questions instead of giving answers
- “What have you tried?”
- “What do you think the root cause is?”
- “What’s your next step?”
I’m still here as support — but I’m not the shortcut anymore.
If I want a team that can stand on its own, I have to stop being the crutch.
What's the hardest part of stepping back as a leader for you?
Not jumping in to “save time”
Letting the team struggle a little
Watching mistakes happen
Trusting they’ll figure it out
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The moment I realized I accidentally trained my team to rely on me
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