Legend or Liability? The Truth About Solo Leadership

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Have you ever heard the phrase, "It’s lonely at the top"? It captures the isolating experience of carrying significant responsibilities alone. For many leaders, this isolation feels like a necessary part of the job.

After all, doesn’t holding onto tasks yourself ensure they’re done right?

Doesn’t being indispensable protect your position?

While this mindset might offer short-term reassurance, it’s a long-term liability—both for you and for the organization. In Canoeing the Mountains, Tod Bolsinger discusses the dangers of being the sole bearer of knowledge or responsibility, highlighting how it creates vulnerabilities from personal burnout to organizational collapse.

Let’s explore why training others to share the load is essential and how doing so can lead to healthier, more sustainable organizations and leadership.

Risk & Reward

Having only one person know how to do something crucial is like building a house of cards—one unexpected gust of wind, and everything comes crashing down. When key responsibilities are concentrated in a single individual, the organization becomes fragile.

Imagine this: You’re the only person who knows how to manage a critical system, handle a complex client relationship, or oversee a vital process. What happens if you’re unavailable due to illness, burnout, or an unexpected life event? The organization grinds to a halt.

This is "organizational risk," a significant danger for teams and companies. While being the sole expert might feel like job security, it’s a false sense of stability. Teams need resilience, and resilience comes from distributed knowledge and shared responsibilities.

Teams need resilience, and resilience comes from distributed knowledge and shared responsibilities.

A study published in Human Factors found that cross-training enhances team coordination and adaptability, leading to improved performance in dynamic environments. And insights from Deloitte indicate that cross-functional teams can boost innovation and adaptability, enabling organizations to respond more effectively to change.

These findings highlight that distributing knowledge and responsibilities not only mitigates organizational risk but also fosters a more resilient and innovative workplace.

Don't Get In Your Own Way

Carrying everything alone doesn’t just harm the organization—it takes a toll on you. Over time, the constant pressure to perform without a safety net can lead to burnout, a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion. Burnout isn’t just feeling tired—it’s the gradual erosion of your ability to function effectively, and it often comes with a side of resentment.

Burnout isn’t just feeling tired—it’s the gradual erosion of your ability to function effectively, and it often comes with a side of resentment.

Beyond burnout, this solo approach robs you of flexibility. If you’re the only one who knows how to handle a specific task, you’re tethered to it. Want to take a vacation? Too bad. Need to step back for family or health reasons? Not possible. Your life becomes as rigid as the responsibilities you’ve refused to share.

Flexibility in all regards is key to a healthy, sustainable life. Sharing responsibilities allows you to step away when needed, knowing the work will continue smoothly. It also gives others a chance to step up and grow, fostering a collaborative, empowering culture.

Steps to Shared Leadership

Transitioning from “the one who does it all” to someone who trains and trusts others is a mindset shift. Here’s how to start:

Identify Key Responsibilities. Make a list of tasks or processes you currently handle alone. Highlight those that are mission-critical or could cause significant disruption if you were unavailable.
Choose a Successor (or Two). Look for team members with the interest, skills, or potential to take on these responsibilities. Don’t just pick one person—cross-train multiple individuals to ensure redundancy.
Teach and Document. Train others not just in the “what” of the task but also the “why.” Create written guides or resources so the knowledge is accessible even when you’re not around.
Start Small. Begin by handing over smaller responsibilities and gradually increase their scope. Provide feedback and support along the way to build confidence and competence.
Trust the Process. Empower others to take ownership. Resist the urge to micromanage or take tasks back if mistakes happen—they’re part of the learning process. Remember the trial and error you went through at one point.

Where Value Lies

Leadership isn’t about doing everything yourself—it’s about creating a culture where others can thrive. By sharing responsibilities, you reduce the risks of burnout and fragility while increasing resilience and collaboration.

By sharing responsibilities, you reduce the risks of burnout and fragility while increasing resilience and collaboration.

Yes, stepping back can feel uncomfortable at first. But over time, you’ll find that training and trusting others doesn’t diminish your value—it amplifies it. You’ll build a more adaptable organization, strengthen your team, and create space for a healthier, more flexible life.

Training and trusting others doesn’t diminish your value—it amplifies it.

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Disclaimer:

These thoughts are presented with curiosity, wonder, and a sense of discovery.

There is so much scholarly material around religion, history, sociology, and psychology (realms I spend much of my time in). While that is immensely valuable and should be consulted when lives are at stake, I'd never produce anything if I required myself to scour these depths before voicing my thoughts which I believe to contain value and worth.

As such, it would not surprise me if my conclusions change in the future. And I hope it doesn't surprise you. That change of mind could come tomorrow, or it could come years from now. Curiosity isn't concrete. Trying to make it so robs it of its strength and beauty. As you read, I hope you will remember this - on my behalf and on yours.

“I have found that when another person has been willing to tell me something of his inner directions this has been of value to me, if only in sharpening my realization that my directions are different.”

Dr. Carl Rogers

Additionally, this post is not a substitute for psychotherapy or professional advice. If you are experiencing emotional distress or seeking personalized guidance, please consult a licensed mental health professional or other qualified expert.