Opt-in and Win

​After many years of hard work building a positive reputation, Jules and her team were suddenly struggling to keep up with customer demand for their services. As the client relationship manager, Jules met with customers to identify their specifications and report back to the development team. She also managed all communications with the client during testing and implementation. 
Jules was outstanding at her job, and her customers loved her. She was able to understand the nuances of her customer's operations. She had extensive knowledge of her company's technology. Her proposals combined these into customized solutions that often delivered beyond the client's expectations.
Unfortunately, Jules was not feeling as successful in her personal life. She found herself booting up her laptop around 10 pm several nights each week, resuming work while her family wrapped up the day and headed to bed. Jules used this time to tweak customizations to the technology so that it worked for the client exactly as she promised it would. 
As the pace of the work grew, so did Jules' frustration that her team failed to deliver what she envisioned for the client. She also sensed that her team's resentment was growing as they continued to see their work altered by her. They argued that they didn't receive enough information in the specifications to complete their job correctly. Jules shook her head in dismay when she heard this. She didn't want her team to act as order takers. She wanted them to bring creative thinking to the process.

Jules had fallen into a pattern that is common for many leaders with  technical expertise. I call it the hero's trap. ​The heroism comes from her commitment to the client, which compels her to work late into the night to make everything perfect.