Rick WhitePresident and Co-Founder of 180BIZ

Stop Being the Tugboat for Your Team | Just ONE Thing by Rick White, 180BIZ

23 Sept 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:04

Rick White warns leaders against becoming the tugboat that pushes their team forward. When you constantly remind, fix, and complete others' work, you create dependency instead of helping. Cut the rope and let people move on their own.

Chapters

How many times are you reminding people, checking on them, chasing them, solving their problems, fixing what they didn't finish? And then finally you had enough and you're just like, you know, just give it to me. I'll do it. And guess what? You just hooked yourself to their ship. Somewhere along the way, helping can turn into carrying. Eventually you become the power behind someone else's job. See, then something really strange happens when they stop moving unless you're pushing or pulling. That's when you've become the tugboat. If you have to keep reminding, chasing, fixing, carrying, and taking things back just to keep someone moving, you're towing them. Right? And maybe, just maybe, the goal here isn't to become a better tugboat. Maybe it's finally time to cut the rope.