One of the fastest ways to accidentally create a dependent team?
Be an excellent problem solver.
It sounds counterintuitive.
But if every time someone brings you a problem, you immediately:
→ give them the answer
→ tell them what to do
→ jump in and fix it
→ make the decision
→ or take the work back…
You're teaching them something.
"The leader is the easiest place to get an answer."
And over time, you become the bottleneck.
Instead, try asking:
"What do you think we should do?"
"What options have you considered?"
"What's your recommendation?"
And finally:
"What support do you need from me?"
You're still leading.
But you're no longer doing the thinking for them.
And that's the difference between having a team that needs you…
and having a team that can think, decide and act without you.
Save this for the next time someone brings you a problem and your instinct is to immediately solve it.
CMP Coaching
Share
Helping organisations and individuals create the conditions for HIGH-PERFORMANCE and WELLBEING to genuinely co-exist.
Because businesses succeed when their people do.💫
27/08/2026
You delegated the work.
So why are you still exhausted?
A mistake I learned the hard way earlier in my career, and one that I see leaders making ALL the time....
We delegate the task.
…but then create an entire surveillance system around it.
Dashboards.
Check-ins.
Progress updates.
Follow-up emails and phone calls.
“Just checking where you’re up to…”
You’re spending almost as much energy MONITORING the work as you would have spent doing it yourself.
That isn’t true delegation.
You're simply outsourcing the 'doing' while holding on to the mental load.
Real delegation means giving someone ownership, not just something to do.
Of course, accountability matters. But that doesn't mean your team needs to constantly prove to you that the work is happening.
If you're delegating more, but still feeling exhausted, maybe it's because of your inability to let go of the work?
Do this instead:
Delegate the outcome you want.
Assign a deadline and any progress touchpoints.
Then leave them alone and let them get on with it. 💫
26/08/2026
Over the next few months, we'll see a wave of wellbeing moments:
R U OK? Day.
Mental Health Month.
Stress Awareness Week.
Movember 🥸.
And they're all super valuable.
Most organisations plan events to support the campaign.
But here's the question I think we're still not great at answering....
🤔 What happens when the campaign ends?
Wellbeing only truly improves when their is meaningful behavioural and systematical change.
It's what happens in the everyday moments AFTER the posters come down.
When workloads are high.
When someone is struggling.
When people feel stretched.
When pressure is affecting decision-making, communication and behaviour.
The first step in meaningful change?
Understanding what's happening to us biologically, and providing answers to....
🤔 Why am I stressed about this, but they seem completely fine?
🤔 Why can't I shake this feeling of overwhelm?
🤔 Why did this feel so BIG yesterday, but feels manageable today?
🤔 Why on earth did I react that way?
🤔 Why can't I switch off properly?
Last month, I delivered a webinar called: The Leadership Brain Under Pressure: The Science of Resilient Leadership.
It's a keynote/workshop designed to help leaders understand what actually happens in the brain and nervous system under pressure - and, more importantly, what they can do about it.
People leave with a toolkit of science-backed strategies to feel more in control when things feel overwhelming. We practise a couple (as many as time allows) on the day.
The upcoming events can be a wonderful way to start the conversation about wellbeing.
The real opportunity is to schedule an event that actually builds leadership capability and something they will keep using all year round.
And that's exactly what 'The Leadership Brain Under Pressure' is designed to do.
DM me if you'd like to know more 😊
Feeling stressed, overwhelmed or under pressure?🤯
Box breathing is a simple way to slow things down, steady your system and create a little more space between stimulus and response.
Save this one for the moments you need things to feel a bit less frantic.
Breathe. Reset. Lead.
25/08/2026
We need to stop trying to solve engagement with perks.
Wellness days. Birthday leave. Free lunches. Team-building days.
They’re nice, and they have their place for sure. But they’re not the thing that determines whether someone wants to bring their best to work each day.
Highly engaged teams are 23% more profitable, and
👉 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined by the manager.
So if you really want more engaged teams (and potentially 23% more profit!), invest in the PEOPLE who lead them.
Teach managers how to:
→ Give meaningful feedback
→ Coach instead of micromanage
→ Set clear expectations
→ Have better conversations
→ Recognise contribution
→ Manage workload and boundaries
→ Create psychological safety
→ Develop their people
Their day to day enjoyment of the job is largely experienced through their manager....
..On a Tuesday afternoon when there isn't a wellness day in sight.
Yes, keep the perks. But don't use them to compensate for poor leadership.
If you're working on improving engagement, instead of thinking, "what else can we offer our people", think about:
“What do our leaders need to get better at?” 🤔
This Weeks Leadership Lesson ➡️ BRAVE CONVERSATIONS.
🙋♀️Leaders, steal this sentence for your next hard conversation:
“Can I have a brave conversation with you?”
And please… stop saying:
❌ “I need to talk to you about something.”
❌ “We need to have a conversation.”
You only use those phrases because you're worried about how something is going to land.... but those phrases also instantly put someone on the defensive.
When you're nervous about having a conversation, start the conversation like this:
“Can I have a brave conversation with you?”
It’s a small shift, but it does a few important things:
→ It shows vulnerability, and gives the other person a moment to meet you where you’re at.
→ It signals that honesty is coming, without putting them on the defensive
→ It changes the tone from “I’m about to tell you what’s wrong” to “let's have a conversation.”
→ It reminds you to be brave too. 😊
Hard conversations don’t have to feel like confrontations.
The way you open the conversation changes everything.
💫Save this one.
Use it next time you're tempted to avoid a conversation altogether.
Listen to the sound of the waterfall for the next 10 seconds and notice where you're holding tension that you don't even realise. 💛🌿
A little weekend reminder 💛🌿
I wish more high-performing leaders knew this:
The things that made you successful aren't necessarily the things that will make you successful at the next level.
Being the person who always says yes might have helped you build your reputation.
❌ But it won't help you build a sustainable team.
Being the person who solves every problem might have made you prove your capability.
❌ But it can make your team dependent on you.
Working longer might have helped you get ahead.
❌ But it doesn't mean you can keep doing it forever.
Being incredibly detail-oriented might have made you excellent at your previous role.
❌ But as a leader, it can become micromanagement.
And being able to "push through" might have helped you hit some pretty impressive goals.
❌ But eventually, your health will send you the bill.
Leadership requires evolution.
At some point, you have to stop asking:
"How do I do more?"
And start asking:
"What does my next level actually require from me?"
Sometimes a new role, also means a new way of operating.
What's something that made you successful earlier in your career that you now realise you need to do differently?
20/08/2026
Let me tell you a real story.
Many years ago one of my Regional Managers couldn’t understand why they were so overwhelmed. So I joined them the next day for a store visit, to work through the issues and see if we could take a little off their plate.
We set ourselves up in the backroom, and opened our laptops.
A team member popped in ...
"Can you just have a quick look at this for a customer?"
A few minutes later, another store called:
"Would this count as warranty or wear-and-tear?"
Then:
"Can you approve this?"
"Can I just check something with you?"
"I’m confused, what should I do about this?"
And this continued through the entire morning.
None of these conversations lasted more than a couple of minutes.
But by lunchtime they'd made dozens of tiny decisions that someone else could have made. And WE had gotten nothing done.
Without realising it, they'd become the operating system for the entire team.
Not because they wanted to micromanage anyone. They wanted to be supportive. Available. Helpful. Approachable.
In doing so, they'd trained their team that they were the easiest place to get an answer.
And it became crystal clear to me that the reason they were overwhelmed had nothing to do with the workload.
This is the DEPENDANCY TRAP no leader ever sees coming.
And eventually, that dependency becomes exhausting for everyone.
❌ The leader feels overwhelmed.
❌ The team loses confidence.
❌ Ownership shrinks.
❌ Capability stalls.
And the leader wonders why they never seem to have enough hours in the day.
The answer? Empower the team to think.
"What would you do if I wasn't here?"
And then be quiet. Let them think. Let them wrestle with it.
Every time you ask a question instead of answering, you're building team capability and opening up capacity as a leader (less interruptions!)
➡️ Save this for the next time someone asks you a 'quick question' 💫
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.