SCRIPT CHECK · 60 SECONDS
Five quick questions show how often it appears, how believable it feels, and what it makes you avoid. You’ll get one private next step.
This is not a diagnosis and there is no pass or fail. It measures the current frequency, credibility, and behavioral cost of “Every problem ends up on my desk because only I can solve it”, including the private rule underneath it: If I'm not personally solving it, it either doesn't get solved or gets solved badly. My presence is the company's quality control. Removing myself means failure becomes visible. That's unacceptable.
QUIET
“Every problem ends up on my desk because only I can solve it” appears, but it rarely gets the final say. Keep this line available for higher-pressure moments: “A machine that only runs while I hold it isn't a team. It's a dependency with a calendar.”
PRESENT
“Every problem ends up on my desk because only I can solve it” wins some small decisions before you catch it. Your useful interruption is: “Teaching my team how to solve this problem is slower today and faster every day after.”
ACTIVE
“Every problem ends up on my desk because only I can solve it” is shaping action often enough to deserve a deliberate counterexample. Start privately and concretely: Write a two-sentence principle note for the next incoming problem—not the answer, but the logic behind it—and send it without solving the problem yourself. Notice the time difference.
DOMINANT
Right now, “Every problem ends up on my desk because only I can solve it” is steering many of the moments you measured. That is a pattern reading, not a diagnosis or character verdict. Begin with one reversible receipt: Write a two-sentence principle note for the next incoming problem—not the answer, but the logic behind it—and send it without solving the problem yourself. Notice the time difference.