Why Your Team Comes to You for Every Little Thing
You’re in the middle of getting something important done when…
“Hey—quick question about this email.”
“Should I go ahead and schedule that meeting?”
“Do you want me to approve this invoice?”
And suddenly, you're sucked back into decisions you thought you hired someone else to handle.
If it feels like your team can’t do anything without checking with you first, there’s a reason for that—and it’s not always because they’re bad at their jobs.
Let’s talk about what’s really going on—and how to stop being the answer key for everything in your business.
The Real Issue: Ownership Gaps, Not Incompetence
Most business owners fall into one of two traps that cause their team to over-rely on them:
Over-Critiquing Everything
You’ve unintentionally trained your team to second-guess themselves. Maybe you’ve corrected every detail, blown up their drafts, or dropped feedback that feels more like rejection than coaching.Vague or Missing Expectations
Your team might actually want to take initiative—but they don’t know how success is defined. If you’ve never clearly communicated what good looks like, they’ll come to you for confirmation at every step.
In both cases, they aren’t trying to be annoying. They’re trying to survive.
What That Looks Like in Real Life
Let’s say you hired a senior manager or director. They’re supposed to solve problems, lead a team, and keep the business humming without pulling you into every fire. But they keep coming back to you—over and over.
When that happens, one of two things is true:
You’re still reviewing or rewriting everything they do (and they’ve learned it’s faster to just ask you first).
You’ve never actually told them what success looks like—so they’re left guessing.
The same goes for your business development person, operations lead, or even your front desk assistant. If you haven’t communicated how you’d handle a situation or what the outcome should look like, they’re going to default to pulling you in.
What You Can Do (Without Micromanaging)
Here’s where to start:
1. Audit Your Involvement
Ask yourself:
Where am I jumping in more than I need to?
Is it because I’m overly particular?
Or because my team is unclear on expectations?
Awareness here is key. Most owners don’t realize how involved they are until someone points it out—or they burn out.
2. Clarify the Outcomes, Not Just the Task
Don’t just assign the what—explain the why and how success is measured.
Example:
Task: Roll out a new policy
Outcome: Do it in a way that doesn’t tank our Google reviews and keeps the team on board
That gives them direction and a standard to aim for—not just something to check off a list.
3. Coach Instead of Answering
When a team member asks you a question, try:
“What would you do?”
“How do you think that would land with the client?”
“Does that align with the outcome we’re aiming for?”
This shifts you from being the fixer to being the coach—without leaving your team stranded.
4. Start Small
Don’t overhaul everything. Pick one team member, one department, or one type of question that always comes your way. Start responding differently. Build from there.
Key Takeaways
Your team may be coming to you for everything because you’ve been too critical or too unclear (or both).
You don’t have to fix it all at once. Start with one conversation
Clarity around what a great outcome looks like gives your team confidence to move without you.
You can delegate decision-making—not just tasks—by coaching through open-ended questions.
Empowerment doesn’t mean abandonment. It means supporting your team in owning solutions, not just surfacing problems.
You don’t need to carry every decision forever.
And honestly? You shouldn’t.
You built a team for a reason. Now it’s time to help them lead—so you can finally get out of the weeds and focus on what only you can do.