Don't Just Show Them, Grow Them

When a deadline is looming, who gets the important assignment? Often, it's the person who has done it before and can be counted on to get it right. It makes sense. There is work to be done, and leaders are responsible for getting results.

But consider the opportunity that might be missed when you always turn to the same experienced people, or take on the work yourself because it's faster. Someone else misses the chance to build the very skills, confidence, and resilience your team will need tomorrow.

Most leaders would say that developing others is important. But the demands of today often get in the way of preparing people for tomorrow. Case in point: Gallup's 2026 research found that only 31% of U.S. employees strongly agree that they have someone at work who encourages their development.

Growing others calls for a different way of looking at your responsibilities.

Solving Problems vs. Building Problem-Solvers

Like most leaders, you likely built your early reputation by being exceptionally good at execution. You learned to solve problems, make decisions, and be a reliable resource. While those strengths earned you a seat at the leadership table, they can later become habits that hold your team back.

When you have the answer, it's natural to want to share it. When a task needs to be completed, it's tempting to step in and get it done. But every time you do the thinking or take over the task, you inadvertently limit someone else's opportunity to develop.

Of course, people need guidance, and there are situations when giving direction is exactly the right thing to do. Developing others isn't about leaving people to figure everything out alone. It's about recognizing when your involvement is helping someone build capability... and when it may be keeping them dependent on you.

Empowering strong, capable teams is more than just a nice thing to do; it's an operational necessity. A team that relies on your expertise might perform well today, but what happens when you are away, too busy to help, or move to a new position? Strong teams need more than one person who can make sound decisions, solve problems, and support others.

The Power of Meaningful Responsibility

Development plans and training courses are essential, but their impact multiplies when paired with meaningful everyday work. Leading a meeting, working through an unfamiliar problem, taking responsibility for a project, or having a difficult conversation can all become opportunities for employees to apply what they've learned.

The key is to match the opportunity with the right level of support. Give someone a challenge that's a little beyond their comfort zone, talk about what success looks like, and make yourself available without taking control of every decision.

Be sure to look beyond the usual suspects. Go-to performers often get picked for new challenges because they've already proven themselves. Meanwhile, others may be waiting for someone to notice their potential. Development opportunities shouldn't depend on who is the loudest person in the room or who holds the most visible role.

Workplace research highlighted by NYU Law's Meltzer Center reinforces why intentional delegation matters. Without deliberate criteria, high-stakes opportunities consistently default to the most visible performers, while low-stakes busywork disproportionately falls to women and underrepresented team members. Broadening the opportunity circle, and pairing it with real guidance, ensures stretch assignments build widespread capability across your team rather than just increasing the workload of a select few individuals.

Give People the Opportunity to Think

Neuroscience shows that brains change through direct experience, not passive observation. Watching you handle a tough conversation or resolve a crisis can model good behavior, but true capability only forms when people do the thinking, handle the situation themselves, and debrief afterward.

Reflection is an important part of that process. Research from Harvard Business School confirms that purposeful reflection significantly boosts subsequent performance. The lesson for leaders is practical: we don't need to turn every situation into a formal training exercise. Sometimes a short conversation afterward is all you need to help make the learning stick.

Try asking the following questions to help employees notice their progress and take responsibility for next steps:

• What went well? 
• What surprised you? 
• What might you try differently next time?

Make Development Part of How You Lead

Finding time for development can feel like one more thing on an already crowded schedule. But it doesn't have to be another meeting or initiative. It can be part of how you delegate, provide feedback, and involve people in decisions.

Before assigning the next project, consider who could benefit from taking on a new responsibility, not just who could complete it fastest. When giving feedback, be specific about what someone did well and what would make an even greater difference next time. At the end of a challenging week, make room to talk about what people learned rather than focusing only on what they finished.

Pay attention to your own habits. Are you regularly the first to offer an answer? Do you step in when someone's approach is different from yours? Are you giving people enough room to make decisions and learn from the results?

Developing others takes patience. There may be moments when doing it yourself would genuinely be quicker. But investing time in others' growth makes your team stronger and more capable, even when you're not in the room.