Do As I Say, Not As I Do

“Do as I say, not as I do.” Not in leadership. 

I didn’t like hearing that phrase as a kid, and I don’t like hearing it now. It makes me want to pull my hair out! Especially when I see leaders modeling it with their availability. If you’re always available yet saying you’ve set boundaries ... those boundaries are about as real as bigfoot. 

But being always available does more harm than making you sound like you wear tinfoil hats on the weekends; it actually hurts your team. It confuses expectations. It erodes trust. It sets an unsustainable standard for everyone else. 

Not convinced? Let me break it down. 

Modeling Burnout 

By answering emails at 11pm and never taking a vacation, you’re (maybe subconsciously) telling your team that this is the expectation. In general, behaviors are more indicative of people’s beliefs than their words are — and your team knows this. They’re going to assume that secretly you want them to be available in the same way you are. If you want them to respect their boundaries, you need to respect your own first. 

Stunting Growth 

Every time you swoop in to solve a problem, you steal someone else’s opportunity to step up. A lot of learning happens through doing, and having a team that can solve problems on their own saves energy that can be used for business growth. Leadership isn’t about proving you can do it all — it’s about creating space for others to grow. 

Diluting Your Impact 

Here’s a secret: Constant availability equals constant distraction. Real leadership requires focus, strategy, and deep work. You can’t do that if you’re jumping at every notification. Allow yourself to give your full attention to projects. You’ll be able to see the difference immediately. 

How To Implement 

Set clear communication windows. Remember office hours in college? Set specific times that you will be available to give assistance and for your team to ask questions. That’s not to say don’t be available for emergencies because they do happen. But define what truly counts as an “emergency”. Having that definition set ahead of time will allow you to actually respond accordingly. Build strong deputy leaders, these will be your point people who you can delegate to so that way you can ... take your vacation. All of it. Just like your team deserves to take their vacation time, you do too. 

Your job isn’t to be available 24/7. It’s to build an organization that thrives — even when you step away. Strong leadership means modeling balance, not burnout. 

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