Dora Vanourek

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The most expensive mistake a new Director makes is trying to be the best 'doer' in the room.

You got the promotion because you were excellent at the work.

Now, that same excellence is your biggest liability.

I remember my first month leading a global team at IBM.

A critical report was due for the executive committee. I didn't like the way my lead analyst had structured the data.

It wasn't wrong. It just wasn't how I would have done it.

So I stayed late. I opened the file. I rebuilt the entire model myself.

I felt productive. I felt in control.

If you're going to do my job, what exactly am I here for?

That question stung because he was right.

By doing the work, I hadn't just wasted my time—I had traded my team's growth for my own comfort.

Leadership isn't about having the best hands. It's about having the best eyes.

1️⃣ Stop fixing, start questioning

→ When you see a mistake, don't open the file. Ask: "What was the logic behind this approach?"

2️⃣ Define the 'What', leave the 'How'

→ Be obsessive about the outcome, but give your team the space to find their own path to get there.

3️⃣ Measure your value by your team's output

→ If you are the bottleneck for every decision, you aren't leading; you're just a high-paid individual contributor.

4️⃣ Build a 'Safety Net', not a 'Cage'

→ Create checkpoints where you can catch errors before they become crises, without hovering over every keystroke.

5️⃣ Protect your time for the 'Unseen'

→ Your job is now to spot the risks your team hasn't seen yet. You can't do that if your head is buried in a spreadsheet.

The hardest part of stepping up is letting go of the tools that made you successful.

But you can't climb the next mountain if you're still carrying the gear from the last one.

The version of this I could not fit here: how to handle a team that expects you to do the work for them.

I break that down in The First Year newsletter: dora.coach

♻️ Repost to help a new leader stop micromanaging

➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for your first year in a new role

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