Are you empowering or enabling your team?

Are you the fixer in your business?

I know how hard it is to let go—trust me, as a recovering perfectionist, I’ve been there (many times.)

And what I’ve learned the hard way is perfectionism often leads to being the Fixer of all the hiccups that come along in your client’s journey.

Let’s face it, as agency owners, we’ve been conditioned to swoop in and save the day—it’s how many of us built our businesses in the first place.

But now, as your agency is growing …

The habit of fixing is working against you. It’s slowing your business down, stalling your team’s growth, and creating a co-dependent cycle that’s tough to break.

Let’s take a closer look at what I mean from 3 perspectives: Leadership, Team, Business.

The Leadership Perspective:

You’ve spent years in the trenches, doing the work yourself. So it’s natural to want to jump in when things aren’t going exactly right.

But here's the reality: when you continue to step in, you send a message to your team that they can’t do it without you. They start to hesitate, second-guess themselves, and seek your approval for even the smallest details.

Ask yourself:

- Am I focusing more on the end result than my team’s development?

- Do I find myself frustrated when my team asks for guidance on things they could handle?

- What am I afraid will happen if I don’t step in?

By parachuting into projects, you’re reinforcing this cycle of dependency. And while it might feel good to be needed, you're ultimately holding your team back from growing—and keeping yourself stuck in day-to-day client delivery.

Your focus gets fragmented with constant interruptions and problem-solving, and before you know it, you’re the Chief Bottleneck.

The Team Perspective:

From your team’s point of view, when you’re always stepping in, they stop trusting their instincts. They worry about making the “wrong” decision and start relying on you for validation. This limits their creativity, stifles their growth, and eventually pushes them to seek a more empowering work environment.

Ask yourself:

- Am I giving my team the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them?

- How can I better support their decision-making without micromanaging?

The Business Perspective:

Every time you swoop in to fix something, especially when it wasn’t planned or budgeted, it directly affects your bottom line. Your time is valuable—likely more costly than any team member's. Every minute you spend on tasks that your team could handle silently drains your profit.

Ask yourself:

- How often am I jumping into projects unbudgeted?

- What is the real cost of me being involved in every detail?

Letting go is hard, but it’s essential to evolving your agency and stepping fully into your leadership.

By empowering your team, you’re not just freeing up your own time and focus—you’re creating space for them to grow, evolve, and become the leaders they’re meant to be.

So, the next time you feel the urge to swoop in and save the day, pause and ask yourself: Am I empowering my team, or enabling them?

Remember, the goal isn’t perfection. It’s progress.  When you step out of the day-to-day and focus on what really moves the needle, that’s when your agency will soar.

You’ve got this!