I thought I was helping my best employee succeed—but I was actually holding them back.
When I was leading a team of directors, I had a rule: I never gave my team work I knew they’d hate. I took it on myself—spreadsheets, financial modeling, stakeholder docs.
I told myself I was being a good leader.
In reality, I was burning myself out—and quietly taking away their opportunity to grow.
When I finally said this out loud, something surprising happened: they wanted the work. They saw it as a way to build new skills.
That same employee is now a VP.
And they wouldn’t be there if I had kept “protecting” them.
💡The Vault Insight: When you protect your team from discomfort, you also limit their growth.
Taking on the “hard” or “boring” work might feel like good leadership
But growth doesn’t come from only doing what you like—it comes from stretching into new skills, even when it’s uncomfortable or unfamiliar.
Your job isn’t to make work easier.
It’s to help your team grow into what’s next.
—Ashley Walton, CMO & Treadmill Desk Advocate
🛠️ Steal This Script for Your Next 1:1
Ask these three questions in your next 1:1 with your direct reports:
“What’s something I’m currently doing that you’d want to learn or take on?”
“Is there any part of my role you’re curious about but haven’t had the chance to learn about yet?”
“What’s a skill you admire that you’ve always written off as something you’d never be able to do?