Yipy Snacks: The Leadership Trap
One idea. One insight. One minute.
You know the feeling: “Today’s going to be a good day because so-and-so is on shift.”
That’s not consistency. That’s luck.
When leaders keep stepping in to save the shift, they’re not leading—they’re compensating for broken systems.
Michelle Shriver, SVP of Hospitality at Foxwoods, names the trap: “When situations continue to repeat and the leader keeps jumping in, you have a system failure.”
The diagnostic is simple:
→ One person struggling? Coaching opportunity.
→ One shift struggling? Leadership issue.
→ Multiple shifts, multiple people? Systems problem.
Strong leaders can’t compensate for weak systems. And they shouldn’t have to.
Operator Takeaway: If your best people are constantly holding things together, stop celebrating the heroics. Start asking what’s broken underneath.
📖 Read the full article: The Hidden Cost of Leadership: When Systems Fail, Leaders Compensate