Have you ever been on a team where it seemed like people were constantly swimming in each other’s lanes? Have you ever taken on someone else’s responsibility because you believed you had the answer or thought you could do the job better than they could?
How did that work out in the long run?
In the short term it may have looked like success. Perhaps the team won, or maybe you even received credit for stepping in and going above and beyond. But the more important question is whether it actually made the team stronger.
When I was younger, I was one of the more polished basketball players in my school district. I believed I could do everything on the court—and often felt like I should. For a while that worked out well for me. I scored points and felt accomplished.
But what about the rest of my teammates who rarely touched the ball? Were they getting better? Were they even enjoying playing?
Eventually I encountered teams with players who were better than I was. At that point I needed help. I needed teammates who were confident, capable, and ready to contribute.
But when I looked around, that support wasn’t there.
I had never truly given them the opportunity to grow. I had not allowed them the chance to struggle, learn, and develop their skills. We weren’t really functioning as a team—and when the pressure increased, we went down in flames.
That experience taught me an important lesson.
Great teams require every member to do their job.
It is often said that a team is only as strong as its weakest link. Instead of stepping into someone else’s role, a better approach is often to coach, support, and develop them so they can perform their responsibility themselves.
That is the essence of leadership.
And when leaders resist the temptation to do everything themselves, they create space to focus on executing their own role at a higher level.
That is also the essence of accountability.
So consider this question today:
Where might you need to step back, support, and develop someone rather than doing their job for them?
