Doing Other People's Work to Seem Helpful Is a Trap That Stalls Your Career

Picking up slack for others feels generous and often gets praised in the short term. But over time, it creates a pattern: you become the person who handles everything, your own projects suffer, and the people you help never learn to handle their responsibilities. Helpfulness becomes harmful when it comes at the cost of your own growth. The next time someone asks you to take on their work, ask yourself: am I genuinely helping, or am I enabling a pattern that hurts both of us? Teach, delegate, and redirect -- but protect the time you need for the work that actually advances your career.