Most leaders I work with care deeply about their teams. They want them to grow, to succeed, to flourish. And yet, often without realising it, they're the very reason their team isn't stepping up.
It's a pattern Liz Wiseman labelled the "accidental diminisher", and once you've seen it, you see it everywhere. Four versions in particular show up in the businesses I coach.
The Rescuer
A team member hits a problem, the leader dives in to fix it. Intention kind, consequence damaging. People stop wrestling with hard problems because they know you'll wrestle for them.
The fix is simple, and slightly uncomfortable. Pause before diving in. Ask, "How do you think we should solve this?" Then actually wait for the answer.
The Pacesetter
Energy and pace are real assets in a leader, when they're channelled well. But if you're constantly sprinting ahead, your team eventually stops trying to bridge the gap and slips into spectator mode. The pace becomes intimidating rather than inspiring.
If this might be you, ask the team for honest feedback. The signal you're looking for: do they feel pulled along, or left behind?
The Protector
This one shows up a lot in founders. The instinct to shield emerging talent from politics, tough clients, and difficult conversations comes from a good place. But sooner or later your team has to develop the resilience that only comes from exposure to the harder edges of working life.
Acting as mum and dad creates a "happy valley". Comfortable, but fragile. Inoculate gradually. Give your team controlled exposure to the situations they'll one day have to navigate without you.
The Ideas Guy
Innovative, energetic, full of new directions. Brilliant qualities, when used with restraint. The problem is, if you flood your team with ideas, they stop generating their own. Why bother, when three more land on Monday?
A simple rule I share with leaders: before you share an idea, ask yourself, "Do I want this in action immediately?" If not, bank it. Bring it back to the team later, alongside their own ideas, and prioritise together.
The thread running through all four is the same. Good intentions, executed without restraint, can quietly cap the people you're trying to grow. Strong leadership isn't about doing more, it's about leaving the right kind of space.
So here's the honest question. Which of the four is you, and what is one specific behaviour you could change next week to stop accidentally diminishing your team?
