Leaders: Only do what only you can do

To follow up on my post last week, where I referenced the great advice I received from Doug Shipman for leaders to resist picking up the oar, I wanted to share another anecdote that was shared with me by a friend a while back:

“Only do what only you can do”

If you’re leading a group of people, one of the best things you can do is figure out what it is that only you can do, and then try hard to make that what you spend most of your time on. Giving responsibility to others on your team helps them grow and develop, builds trust, and allows you to focus on the right things.

At Dragon Army, I focus on the things that only I can do (or that I feel I’m best at executing.) Only I can build relationships and partnerships that will allow for our accelerated growth. Only I can provide the final sign-off on new dragons to ensure the necessary culture fit (I interview every candidate as the last step in the hiring process.) And only I can ensure that our Purpose, Vision, Tenets, and Values are being brought to life daily and remain the core lens we use when making decisions for the business.

In my experience, leaders that spend their time doing things that others on their team can execute, struggle to achieve their goals and to build robust, thriving teams.

~ photo by @ashanedis