10/21/2026
You’re the person everyone calls when a project is falling apart.
The one who steps in when someone drops the ball.
The one who somehow manages to get things across the finish line when nobody else can.
And you’ve been rewarded for it.
But here’s something I want you to consider:
What if being indispensable at getting things done is keeping you from being seen as someone who should be leading strategically?
I see this pattern with leaders all the time. Heck, I’ve been this leader myself!
Early in our careers, we learn that hard work, reliability, and delivering results earn us recognition and opportunities.
And for leaders who have had to work harder to prove their competence because of bias, being the person who always delivers can become an especially important strategy.
But as we move into more senior leadership roles, the game changes.
Our value is no longer just in what we can accomplish ourselves. It’s also in what we can enable others to accomplish.
That requires a different set of muscles.
Delegating instead of rescuing.
Developing others instead of being the expert on everything.
Making our strategic thinking visible instead of just delivering the results.
And perhaps hardest of all, letting someone else do something differently than (sometimes not as well as) we would. Yikes. 😬
Here’s a little leadership challenge for this week:
Notice one thing you’re still doing because you’re really good at it, not because you should still be the one doing it.
Then ask yourself:
Who could grow by taking ownership of this?
And...
What would it free me up to focus on?
Because being a strategic leader doesn’t mean you stop being capable.
It means you stop centering your individual capability.
