One of the things I enjoy most about my work is having the opportunity to coach leaders across a wide range of organizations and industries. While every organization has its own unique challenges, I continue to be fascinated by the leadership patterns that emerge, regardless of industry.

One pattern I have been noticing more frequently is leaders who have been promoted because they are exceptional at what they do but are finding it difficult to transition from doing the work to leading the people doing the work.

A Coaching Conversation That Changed the Discussion

I was reminded of this during a recent coaching session with a director who had been in his new role for several months. He was highly respected, incredibly knowledgeable, and deeply committed to his team. As we talked about how things were going, he shared something that immediately resonated with me.

"I'm working harder than ever, but I feel like I'm accomplishing less. My team still comes to me for almost every decision, and I don't understand why they aren't taking more ownership."

As we explored how he was spending his time, it became clear that his days were filled with answering questions, solving problems, reviewing work, and making decisions that others on his team were capable of making. He wasn't intentionally holding his team back. In fact, he believed he was supporting them by being available whenever they needed him.

Rather than offering advice, I asked him a different question.

"If your team still needed you for every important decision six months from now, would you consider that leadership success?"

He didn't answer right away. Then he smiled and quietly said, "No... I guess I wouldn't."

That simple question changed the direction of our conversation. We weren't talking about workload anymore. We were talking about leadership.

A Promotion Changes Your Title, Leadership Changes Your Mindset

Like many leaders, he had been promoted because of his technical expertise, sound judgment, and ability to solve complex problems. Those strengths had served him well throughout his career. The challenge was that his new role required something different.

Your success is no longer measured by how much work you personally accomplish. It is measured by how effectively you develop others to accomplish the work.

I have seen this pattern repeatedly throughout my coaching practice. Whether I am working with leaders in financial services, healthcare, engineering, or technology, the challenge is remarkably similar. Organizations often promote their strongest individual contributors into leadership roles, but very few prepare them for the significant mindset shift that follows.

In my experience, this isn't because leaders don't want to empower their teams. In fact, the opposite is usually true. They care deeply about their people and genuinely want them to succeed. They simply haven't realized that the behaviors that made them successful in their previous role are now limiting the growth of the people they lead.

When Helping Becomes a Leadership Barrier

Most leaders don't hold on to work because they don't trust their people. They do it because they care. They want to help, remove obstacles, ensure quality, and support their teams. Sometimes they simply know the answer and believe it will be faster to step in.

While those intentions are admirable, there is often an unintended consequence.

Every time we solve a problem that someone else is capable of solving, we unintentionally reduce their opportunity to think critically, build confidence, and strengthen their own judgment. Over time, people begin relying on their leader instead of relying on their own capabilities.

The leader becomes busier while the team becomes more dependent. Neither is the outcome anyone intended.

Great Leaders Develop Capability

This doesn't mean leaders should stop supporting their teams. Quite the opposite.

Our role as leaders is to create opportunities for people to think, learn, and grow. Sometimes that means asking a question instead of providing an answer. Sometimes it means allowing someone to work through a challenge, even if the solution takes a little longer. Those moments often become the experiences where the greatest learning occurs.

One of the most rewarding parts of coaching is watching leaders discover that they don't need to have all the answers. They simply need to create an environment where others feel confident finding them.

That is where real leadership begins.

A Different Measure of Success

One question I often ask leaders is, "If you took two weeks off tomorrow, what would happen?"

The answers are always interesting.

Some leaders smile and tell me they would spend their vacation answering emails and phone calls. Others admit that most decisions would simply wait until they returned.

While many see this as evidence of how valuable they are, I encourage them to look at it differently.

What if the goal isn't to become indispensable?

What if great leadership is measured by the confidence, capability, and sound judgment your team demonstrates when you are not there?

That shift in thinking changes everything.

Final Thoughts

As leaders, we all need to recognize that our role evolves as our responsibilities grow. We are no longer expected to have all the answers. Instead, we are expected to develop people who can think critically, make sound decisions, and confidently lead within their own areas of responsibility.

If you find yourself overwhelmed, working long hours, or feeling like every important decision still comes back to you, it may be worth taking a step back and reflecting on how you are spending your time.

When I reflect on the best leaders I have worked with throughout my career, one thing stands out. They weren't remembered because they had all the answers. They were remembered because they developed people who became exceptional leaders themselves.

To me, that is one of the greatest legacies any leader can leave.

A Question to Consider

Think about your calendar over the past two weeks. How much of your time was spent solving problems that someone on your team could have solved with the right coaching and support?

Your answer may reveal whether you are still doing the work or whether you are truly leading.

Leadership isn't about being needed. It's about building people who no longer need you in the same way they once did. In my experience, that's when you know you've truly made the transition from doing the work to leading.

I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences around how you spend time as a leader, and what that looks like across your team. 

Please reach out to me directly at joanne.trotta@leadersedgeinc.ca or 416-560-1806.

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