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:

  1. Is this actually urgent — or just uncomfortable?

  2. Am I solving the right problem — or just the one I can fix fastest?

  3. 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