You want to be a good leader. You work hard and you protect your team. You solve problems when they come to you. And yet—your team isn't growing the way you expected.
Here's a question worth asking: What if the biggest challenge to your team's success isn't the market, the competition, or your people?
What if it's you?
That's what Victoria Trammel discovered when she looked honestly at herself. "The greatest challenge was me," she said. "I was the greatest challenge to myself, to the success of my team, to the success of my organization, to the success of my customer. It was me."
Victoria thought she was doing the right things. She was the "big tree in the forest," providing protection for her people. The problem? She was blocking out the sunlight. Her team couldn't grow because she was standing in the way.
This happens more than we realize. We become so focused on being a good leader that we forget what good leadership actually requires: developing other leaders.
Think about it. When someone on your team brings you a problem, what do you do? Most leaders do what feels natural—they solve it. They provide the answer. They direct the next step.
But here's the trap: Every time you solve their problems for them, you're training them to need you. You're not developing leaders. You're creating dependency.
In this example, Victoria didn't get cut down, she just did some pruning. She stepped back enough to let others step into their own leadership journey.
The change was dramatic. Before, her team would come to her with their problems, and she would provide solutions. After? They started coming to her with ideas. With things they'd already changed. With suggestions they wanted to try.
"They're looking for feedback, not direction," Victoria explained. "And that in and of itself has been the most encouraging piece of it."
This is what happens when leaders shift from an inward mindset—focused on their own role as problem-solver, protector, decision-maker—to an outward mindset that sees their people as people with their own capabilities, challenges, and potential.
The business results tell the story. At the end of 2022, Victoria's organization was 3.4% profitable. By the end of 2023? They were at 18% profitable. In the government contracting world, that kind of jump is almost unheard of.
Their program grew by 35%. New business flooded in. And when people asked what she was doing differently, the answer was simple: "It's empowering the next level of people. Just by nature of allowing my leaders to lead their people in such a way that they're taking others into account."
Look, most of us didn't set out to block our team's growth. We thought we were helping. We thought being indispensable was the goal.
But there's a difference between being needed and being useful. And there's a difference between solving problems and developing people who can solve problems themselves.
The question isn't whether you're working hard. It's whether your hard work is helping your people grow—or keeping them from it.
Sometimes the most powerful thing a leader can do is step back. Do a little pruning. Let the sunlight in.
Q: How do I know if I'm blocking my team's growth?
A: Pay attention to how your team comes to you. Are they bringing problems for you to solve, or ideas for you to react to? If they're waiting for your answers instead of developing their own, that's a signal worth examining.
Q: Isn't it my job to provide direction and solve problems?
A: Yes—and no. There are moments when you need to step in and provide clarity. But your job isn't just to solve today's problems. It's to build people who can solve tomorrow's problems without you. Direction is important. Development is essential.
Q: What's the first step to making this shift?
A: The next time someone brings you a problem, resist the urge to solve it immediately. Instead, ask them what they think the solution might be. Ask what they've already considered. You'll be surprised how often they already have an answer—they just haven't had the space to offer it.