“But, if I have the right solution to the problem, isn’t it more efficient to just get the team to do it my way?” Muriel protested.

“In the short run,” I replied. “Are you playing the short game or a long game? Are you training your team to solve problems or are you training your team to follow directions?”

“But, my manager, you know I have a manager, too?” Muriel hinted a bit of sarcasm. “My manager expects me to solve this problem, get on with the work, so we can get to the next project. My manager doesn’t care, as long as we keep moving.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. “If all the problems faced by the team have to go through you, eventually what happens to the speed of problem solving? And the more you solve the team’s problems, the more they depend on you to solve their problems. Every team problem you take away, disables the team, to the point where they are helpless to solve a problem without you. Even if the problem is within their capability to solve, you create a habit, a routine grooved behavior that leads right to the line at your door, behind all the other problems that begin to stack up.”