I’ve started using a new word at work lately:
Boomerang.
I hand something off. It leaves my desk. Someone else owns it.
And then somehow…there it is again.
Right back on my desk.
Boomerang. 😂
It started as kind of a joke. But the more I’ve used it, the more I’ve realized there’s actually something behind it that I need to pay attention to.
Why do things keep coming back?
It would be really easy for me to say, Well, people need to take ownership.
And sometimes, yes. They do.
But if I’m going to be fair about it, I also have to look at what happens when that work comes back to me.
Because I’ve probably helped create some of my own boomerangs.
When helping turns into doing
Someone comes to me because they’ve hit a roadblock or they’re not sure what to do next.
Of course I want to help. That’s part of my job.
But I also tend to be a problem-solver. If I know the answer or know how to get something done, my brain immediately goes there.
Let me look at it.
Let me fix this part.
Let me make the call.
Actually, just give it to me. 😂
And suddenly the thing I handed off is mine again.
The task gets finished, which feels productive. We can check it off the list and move on.
But lately I’ve been asking myself a different question:
Did I actually help them figure it out, or did I just get it off the list faster?
Those aren’t necessarily the same thing.
Doing someone else’s work can masquerade as helping.
I don’t think most leaders do it intentionally. Sometimes it genuinely feels like part of our job. Someone needs help, so we help.
But helping someone get their job done and getting their job done for them are two very different things.
I’m learning that distinction matters.
Sometimes the faster way costs more later
This is probably the part I struggle with most.
There are plenty of times when I really could do something faster myself.
That’s not arrogance. Sometimes it’s simply experience. I’ve dealt with the situation before. I know where to find the answer. I know who to call. I can already see where the problem is headed.
So jumping in makes sense in the moment.
The problem is what happens next time.
If the same task comes back to me again, and I finish it again, at some point I have to admit that I haven’t really solved anything.
I’ve just become part of the process.
And maybe that’s the bigger problem.
Answer the question. Don’t automatically take back the task.
This is something I’m actively working on.
If someone comes back with a question, I can answer the question without taking ownership back.
Sometimes I can ask, “What do you think the next step is?”
Sometimes I can point them toward where I would look for the answer.
Sometimes I can explain why I would make a certain decision instead of simply making it for them.
And sometimes I just need to give them a little room to work through it.
That doesn’t mean tossing work at people and saying, “Figure it out.”
That’s not leadership either.
People need training. They need clear expectations. They need the right tools and information. They need to know what they actually own. And they need to feel comfortable asking questions when they don’t know something.
I want people to ask questions.
I just don’t want every question to quietly transfer ownership back to me.
There’s a difference.
And yes, sometimes that means biting my tongue when every part of me wants to say, “Just give it to me.” 😂
Bringing back a question isn’t the same as bringing back ownership
I’m starting to pay more attention to this distinction, too.
There’s a difference between:
“I ran into a problem. What should I do?”
and:
“I ran into a problem. Here’s what I found, here’s what I think our options are, and here’s what I think we should do.”
Both people are asking for help.
But the second person is still carrying the task.
That’s what I want to encourage.
I don’t need everyone to know every answer. I certainly don’t.
But I do want people to become comfortable thinking through problems, making recommendations and developing their own judgment.
And I have to give them enough room to actually do that.
The uncomfortable part of becoming less necessary
This connects to something else I’ve been thinking about lately.
For a long time, being needed has been part of how I’ve measured my value.
People trust me to figure things out. I’m proud of that. I’ve worked hard to become someone people can depend on.
I don’t want to lose that.
But I’m starting to understand that being dependable doesn’t have to mean being required for everything.
That’s a different thing.
If something that used to require me can now happen successfully without me, I’m trying not to look at that as losing responsibility or becoming less valuable.
Maybe that’s actually the win.
I know that.
I’m still working on being completely comfortable with it. 😏
And yes, there’s faith in this for me
Letting go sounds easy until you’re actually the one doing it.
There’s trust involved.
Trusting the people around me enough to let them work through things.
Trusting myself enough to know my value doesn’t disappear because someone else becomes capable of doing something I used to do.
And for me, trusting God.
I don’t know exactly what the next version of my role—or me as a leader—looks like yet.
I’m okay saying that.
I do believe God may be growing me into something different, though. And maybe part of that growth requires me to stop holding onto things simply because I know I can carry them.
Sometimes growth means learning how to carry more.
And sometimes it means realizing you don’t have to anymore.
So when something I’ve handed off starts making its way back toward my desk, I’m trying not to automatically catch it.
Instead, I’m trying to ask:
What does this person need from me so they can keep carrying it?
I’m sure I’ll still catch a few boomerangs.
Probably more than a few. 😂
But at least now I’m starting to see them coming.
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