The "Super-Hero" IT Manager
Why Saving Your Team is Destroying Them
Honestly, what is your immediate backstage reaction?
If you think, “I’ll take back the access and take the keyboard, it will be much faster than explaining how to fix it,” then you are wearing the Super-Hero mask.
The Mask: “Never mind, I’ll handle it.” A bug in production? A tricky configuration? You jump into the trenches, cape fluttering, and fix the issue in record time. In the moment, you feel incredibly useful and the team is relieved.
But “Backstage,” you are playing a silent tragedy. Deep down, you love the spotlight. When the team pulls off a miracle, you can’t help but feel that it was all thanks to your direct intervention.
The Hidden Cost By constantly stealing other people’s problems to feed your ego and shine, you are creating two monsters:
Infantilization: Your team stops trying to figure things out. Why should they exhaust themselves if “the boss” is eventually going to step in, do the work at 10 PM, and take the credit? They develop zero autonomy.
Your Own Burnout: You neglect your actual job: strategic alignment, optimizing processes, and growing your people. You become the ultimate Single Point of Failure (SPOF).
The Brutal Truth If you feel the need to save everyone, it means you either don’t trust your team, or you have an unhealthy need to be admired. You are choosing to be a hero for a day instead of the coach of a high-performing team.
Your Backstage Strategy: Learn to sit on your hands The next time a crisis hits, do not touch the keyboard. Guide your team using your words. Transfer your knowledge. Remember this golden rule: If you are irreplaceable, you are unpromotable.
Instead of jumping in, ask these two questions:
“What have you tried so far?”
“What do you think is our next step?”
Your role as a leader is not to carry everyone’s backpack. It’s to make sure everyone has the right boots to walk the trail... and to let them celebrate their own summits.
Want to drop the mask and learn how to navigate the corporate theater without the politically correct fluff? Subscribe to the SBH - English Edition to get weekly backstage strategies and regain control of your time and your team.