030: Welp, this wasn’t in the plan...

Today’s Weekly Fix was handed to me on a silver platter, courtesy of a Slack notification.

One of our coaches fainted. A brand new assistant manager was on deck.And every leader within a five mile radius felt their stomach drop.

First, our coach is okay.

Second, if you’ve ever been responsible for someone navigating an unexpected situation, you know the mix of feelings that follow. Empathy. Worry. And a tiny voice whispering, “Maybe I shouldn’t have delegated that yet…”

But here’s the truth I want to drive home today: The unexpected is a small part of the job, but it is part of the job. And it doesn’t mean you should stop delegating.

If anything, it’s why we must keep delegating.

Because leadership isn’t just about preparing people to handle their to do list. It’s about preparing them to handle the moments they didn’t sign up for.

Learning to Lead During the “Oh Crap” Moments I want every manager, every coach, every human on our team to understand this: You don’t become capable before you encounter unexpected situations.You become capable through them.

So how do we prepare our people without becoming helicopter leaders?

Here are a few simple practices:

1. Normalize that unexpected moments will happen. Say it out loud. Say it often. Expect the unexpected.When people know surprises are allowed in the job, they stop panicking when one arrives.

2. Walk through scenarios before you need them.

Not in a doomsday way.In a “If X happens, here’s our first step” way.Small rehearsals create big confidence.

3. Create safe communication loops.

People don’t need to know everything.But they do need to know exactly who to text, call, or send a Slack message to when something goes sideways. Even better, they need to know what actually constitutes a true emergency.

4. Celebrate how people handle hard moments.

When that moment happened, you better believe our leadership team noticed.Not in a “gotcha” kind of way, but in a “this is how we identify leaders” way.

And finally, keep delegating.

If you only delegate tasks that can’t possibly go wrong, you’re not delegating leadership. You’re delegating paperwork.

We grow stronger teams the same way we grow muscles, by giving them weight.

And sometimes, the weight shows up in the form of a fainting coach on a Tuesday afternoon.

But you know what?

Our people handled it. They leaned in. They responded. They cared.

That tells me more about them than any normal day ever could. Delegate away, - Casey

🎯Real Talk - Delegation is easy when everything goes smoothly. It gets uncomfortable when the script goes out the window.

That discomfort isn’t a warning sign. It’s proof you’re developing leaders, not protecting comfort.