A leadership mistake that will cost you years of your life and lead to depression

Hey,

I just realized how many business owners make a crazy mistake—one that I used to make too.

To be fair, it’s more intuitive to fall into this trap than to avoid it.

And I can almost guarantee you’ve made it as well.

I’m talking about how you structure your meetings.

Because most people instinctively do it like this:

1. You start by laying out the issue you want to fix.

2. You share your take on it.

3. You ask your team for their input.

But this approach is quietly sabotaging your company.

Why?

Because the moment you present a solution, you’re serving it to your team on a silver platter—without them having to do any real thinking.

Let’s be honest:

If you're hungry, would you rather eat something someone else made, even if it’s not exactly what you wanted, or would you spend two hours cooking your own meal?

Most people would take the easier option.

Now, if the person making that food for you is your boss, would you really turn it down?

Brainstorming meetings work the same way. If you’ve already given your team a solution, why would they bother coming up with their own?

Even worse, you’re training them to rely on your input for everything.

If they never experience the success of their own ideas, they won’t build the confidence to make decisions—about anything.

So, what’s the fix?

It’s simple: shut up for a while.

Lay out the problem, then keep your mouth shut until everyone else has presented their solutions.

This way, you get a variety of fresh ideas, no one is biased by your perspective, and your team actually learns to think independently.

Trust me, the level of autonomy and confidence this builds is massive.

Try it in your next meeting and see for yourself.

Cheers,

Tyler