You may be a shield, but you are not a parent. Sometimes, in combining the roles of shield and mentor we end up in a parenting-style relationship with our team, and treat them like fragile children to be protected, nurtured, and chided as appropriate. You are not their parent. Your team is made up of adults who need to be treated with appropriate respect. This respect is important for your sanity as well as for theirs. It’s too easy to take their mistakes personally when you view them as a child-like extension of yourself, or to get so emotionally invested that you take every disagreement they
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