Stop Doing Your Team's Work: The Over-Functioning Manager Trap (Ep 319)

It usually shows up disguised as one of your strengths. You are the manager who notices the gap before anyone else does and quietly fills it.

The deck gets polished, the deadline gets saved, the client never sees the mess. From the outside, you look reliable. What no one sees is that you are carrying two or three people's work on top of your own and falling behind on the things only you can do.

In this episode, Ramona names a pattern that almost never gets flagged in leadership training, because on the surface, it reads as conscientiousness. She walks through how the rescue reflex runs behind the scenes, why working harder only feeds it, and what it quietly does to accountability on a team.

She also gets specific about the fix, including the exact language to hand a piece of work back so it does not land as a punishment.

In Episode 319, Ramona digs into:

• The hidden cycle that turns I'll just handle it into a permanent ceiling on your growth
• Why a team under-functions in direct proportion to how much the manager over-functions
• The one question to ask yourself the second you reach to redo someone's work
• The check-in that makes ownership real instead of taking the task back at the finish line

If you have ever redone a direct report's work late at night, felt resentment building while the work kept getting done, or wondered why your team needs you for everything, this episode gives you the language to change it.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jLbQNx9e5_E

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• The Leadership Accelerator: Archova's 12-week cohort program for new and early-stage managers. Goes deep on delegating without abandoning your team and running accountability conversations that stick. archova.org/leadership-accelerator
• Free Masterclass: The 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for. archova.org/masterclass

Links

• Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE.
• Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits
• Turn your 1-on-1 meetings into your most valuable meeting of the week. Learn more at archova.org/1on1-course
• Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book, The Confident and Competent New Manager: amzn.to/3TuOdcP

Other Episodes You Might Like

• Episode 311 Delegating: Why Smart Managers Get Stuck Doing the Work
• Episode 274 The Self-Sacrificing Manager: Breaking the Cycle of Doing Everyone's Work

What's Next?

• Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org.
• Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype: archova.org/quiz
• In your first manager role and don't want to mess it up? Watch our free Masterclass: archova.org/masterclass
• Love the podcast? Leave a review at ramonashaw.com/itunes and on our Spotify page. Thanks for your support of this show.
• If this episode helped, take a screenshot listening on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM on LinkedIn

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