If you find yourself protecting your team from everything, you're doing it wrong.
And here's what that gets you:
That's why I created Thriving Teams, a program designed to help leaders create the kind of team culture where people take ownership and work together toward shared goals.
I know. That sounds harsh.
Because you care. You shield them. You run interference. You absorb the pressures from your leader and your colleagues, so they don't have to.
But here's the question you need to ask yourself: Are you building their capability? Or are you building their dependence on you?
Protecting vs Supporting: There's a Difference
Protecting means you're the buffer between your team and reality. You're the one who handles the tough conversations. You're the one who takes the heat. You're the one who steps in when things get uncomfortable.
And sure, your team feels safe. But they never learn to handle it themselves.
Supporting? That's different.
- You're teaching them how to navigate tough situations, not avoiding them.
- You're coaching them through discomfort instead of removing it entirely.
- You're giving them the tools to handle pressure, not absorbing all of it for them.
- You're building their confidence to solve problems, not solving every problem for them.
And here's what that gets you:
A team that can handle hard conversations without you. A team that grows stronger with every challenge. A team that doesn't need you to save them because they’ve been taught how to do it themselves.
Which means you finally get to do the work that only you can do. The strategic thinking, the process improvement, the leadership that moves your organization forward.
That's the difference between a leader who protects and a leader who builds.
3 Ways to Support (Not Just Protect)
1. Let Them Feel the Friction
Next time someone comes to you with a problem, resist the urge to fix it immediately.
Ask: "What do you think the best approach is?" or "How would you handle this if I wasn't available?" You're building their problem-solving capacity.
2. Coach Through the Hard Conversation
When your team member is avoiding a difficult conversation, don't have it for them or let them continue to push it off. Walk them through it. Help them prepare. Role-play if needed. Then let them do it. Debrief afterward. That's how capability and their confidence build.
3. Name What You're Building
When someone handles something well, don't just say "good job." Tell them what they did and why it mattered. "I can see that you really took the time to listen and understand the bigger picture with that decision. That's exactly the kind of thoughtfulness that we are striving for." Specific feedback builds specific skills.
Growth Requires Disruption
If your team can't function without you, you're not building a thriving team. You're reinforcing a bottleneck (that’s you, you’re the bottleneck).
You have to disrupt your own pattern first.
You have to stop being the person with all the answers. You have to let them struggle a little. You have to trust that they can handle more than you think they can.
That's uncomfortable. I get it.
But growth always requires disrupting what feels safe. For you and for them.
Are you ready to stop protecting and start building?
Your team doesn't need you to save them. They need you to grow them.
That's why I created Thriving Teams, a program designed to help leaders create the kind of team culture where people take ownership and work together toward shared goals.
That's how you multiply your impact. That's how you build a team that thrives. And that's how you finally get the space to lead at the level you were meant to.
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