A stretch assignment still needs support

Career · Little Light original

A capable colleague is given a high-stakes assignment. The announcement speaks about trust and opportunity, then support disappears so the responsibility will feel hers. She meets a decision and wonders whether asking for help would prove she was not ready. A stretch assignment should stretch judgement, not require solitude. Before the work begins, clarify which decisions she owns, where the consequences need senior cover and who will make time for questions. Agree on a few checkpoints. Stay close enough to help her see around a corner without taking the work back the moment her approach differs from yours. Support does not make the opportunity less real. It makes learning possible while the stakes are real. People grow when they can carry meaningful responsibility and still tell the truth about what they do not yet know. A thoughtful leader does more than hand someone a larger test. She creates the conditions in which one unfamiliar moment does not become a verdict, and the person can become ready through the work itself.

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