If everything has to go through you, you’re not leading. You’re a traffic jam with a nametag.

Being the necessary node feels like importance and works like a bottleneck. Every decision queues for your attention, the people around you learn not to think, and the whole operation moves at the speed of your worst week. The cause is usually not ego but a fear that standards will slip the moment you let go of something.

Pick one class of decision and hand it over completely, including the right to get it wrong. Say out loud what a good outcome looks like, then stay out of it. You will learn quickly whether the problem was the team or the queue.