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The Toxic Trait I Thought Was a Superpower
Until I Burned Everything Down
They used to call me “relentless.”
I took it as a compliment.
I moved fast, answered faster, jumped on problems before they could breathe.
That trait built my company. It also nearly broke it.
The lie I told myself? “If I slow down, we fall behind.”
Here’s what really happened:
My team stopped thinking — they just reacted.
Good ideas died because I already hit “send.”
I trained everyone to operate in chaos. And then blamed them for not being strategic.
I called it leadership. It was actually control.
Every fire felt urgent because I made it urgent.
The truth:
I wish someone told me this earlier: Being the fastest in the room isn’t the same as being the leader.
Urgency isn’t excellence. It’s anxiety wearing a productivity badge.
Your team doesn’t need your adrenaline. They need your clarity. Your restraint. Your trust.
Slowing down doesn’t make you weak.
It makes space for better decisions — from everyone.
Steal the filter I use now
Before I act, I ask myself:
Is this actually urgent — or just uncomfortable?
Am I solving the right problem — or just the one I can fix fastest?
Am I moving fast because I trust the team… or because I don’t?
Most of the time, the truth stings.
But it saves me from bleeding later.
Best,
Peter Delle