Leadership isn’t about showing off your superpowers—it’s about helping your team discover theirs.

When I first became a leader, that was a tough pill to swallow. I was still in individual contributor mode, eager to prove my worth. Thankfully, I had a mentor who reminded me to check my insecurities and focus on shining the spotlight on my team instead.

Story Time: I once had a team member who made a decision without running it by me first. It was actually a good call, but as an insecure leader, I saw it as disrespectful—like they were trying to one-up me.

The right move would’ve been to acknowledge it as a good decision (because it was) and kindly let them know to keep me in the loop next time, so I could support them if needed.