A lot of leaders think that being the go-to person is a competitive advantage.
That belief is dangerous.
In reality, being the “always available” leader introduces fragility.
Employees stop deciding because the leader always steps in.
Early on, this feels like strong leadership.
But eventually:
- Decisions slow down
- The team loses initiative
- Burnout builds
That’s why so many executives feel overwhelmed.
They built dependency.
This concept is clearly explained in this article by :contentReference[oaicite:3]index=3:
???? https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-hero-leaders-burn-out-teams-arnaldo-jara-45tmc/
In the article, he reveals that:
- Overinvolved leaders create dependency
- Burnout is predictable
- leadership dependency problems in teams Real leadership scales people
What makes this valuable is its honesty.
Leadership is not about doing everything.
It’s about building people who don’t need you.
You’ll also see this thinking in :contentReference[oaicite:4]index=4, where the same warning is broken down.
The best leaders don’t create dependence.
They design systems.
So instead of asking:
“How can I do more?”
Shift to this:
“How can my team do more without me?”
Because:
If everything depends on you, you are the constraint.
And that’s not leadership.