The "Vacation Test" Part II: From Hero to Guide

tldr; Awareness is the first step, but action is where the transformation lives. If the "Vacation Test" revealed that you have opportunities to improve, the next step isn't just to "step back"—it’s to intentionally build the safety and clarity your team needs to step up. Today, we look at how to move from being the Hero to being the Guide.

In my last message, I challenged you to take the “Vacation Test.” We looked in the mirror and asked the hard question: If I disappeared for a month, would my team thrive or dive?

If you actually did the 4-block reflection, you might be experiencing some conflicting feelings.  In some cases, you may be doing great- creating an empowered, activated, self organizing team.  In other cases, you may have realized you may have inadvertently been causing some of the challenges your team is facing!

But here’s the thing: realization and clarity is a gift, and now the solution is within your power. That said, I will warn you all about an easy-to-fall-into trap... Deciding to "stop micromanaging" by simply disappearing is not a strategy. Please don't just stop answering questions, stop showing up to the huddles, and call it "empowerment."

That isn't empowerment. That’s abandonment.

The Hero vs. The Guide

Many of us were promoted because we were great "Heroes." We solved the problems, we had
the answers, and we carried the heavy load. But to pass the Vacation Test, you have to transition from being the Hero to being the Guide.

A Hero makes themselves the center of the story. A Guide makes the team the center of the story.

How do we make that shift practically? It comes down to two things I talk about often: Context and Guardrails.

1. High Context, Low Control

If your team needs to ask you for approval, it may be because they don’t have the same context you do. They don't know the "why" behind the "what."

The Hero Answer: "Do it this way because I said so."

The Guide Answer: "Here is the outcome we are chasing and the constraints we have. Based on that, what do you think is the best path forward?"

Making this shift in how you answer may feel less efficient, but consider it an investment into your team becoming better problem solvers, which in the long run.. will make them far more effective!

2. Building Guardrails, Not Gates

A gate stops people until you show up with the key. A guardrail allows them to run as fast as they want while keeping them from falling off the cliff. If you are a "gate," you are a bottleneck. If you provide "guardrails"—clear outcomes, defined budgets, clear decision rights and shared values—you provide the safety they need to move without you.

Coach’s Challenge: The "Why" Experiment

This week, when a team member comes to you with a question they could answer themselves, try this 3-step response:

1. 
   Stop the Reflex: Don't give the answer. (Even if it’s faster)
   
2. Ask for the Hypothesis: Say, "I have some thoughts, but I want to hear your perspective first. If I wasn't here, what would you do?"
3. Validate the Logic: Instead of critiquing the choice, look at the thinking process. If their logic is sound, let them run with it—even if it’s only 80% of how you would do it.

That 20% gap is the price of growth. It’s the investment you make today so that, a year from now, you can take that month off and come back to a team that didn't just survive—they leveled up.

We’re all on this journey together. Trying to make these subtle shifts in the way you lead helps you shift away from "being the person with all the answers" to building a team that can solve problems quickly and effectively. Great leaders build people who build great things.  Challenge yourself to be a great leader.

We all win together!

Coach Dan