144. Stop Answering Your Team's Questions—Here’s Why It’s Hurting You and Your Practice

Introduction

In this episode, you'll discover a little-known and slightly controversial leadership skill:

Do not answer every question your team members bring to you and don’t say yes to all of their requests for help.

If you do, you’ll build a team of sheep that are dependent on you and hobble their ability to become a high-performance team.

Let me show you how to avoid this trap, free up your day, and build a better team because of this powerful leadership skill.

The Trap of Answering Every Question

Hello again, Dr. Dike Drummond here with the latest edition of the Stop Physician Burnout Podcast, broadcasting from our home in beautiful Seattle, Washington—home of TheHappyMD.com.

Let me teach you an important lesson for physicians working with administrative teams or leading clinical teams.

As a physician, you are often seen as the final authority, especially in clinical matters. People ask you questions all the time, and rightfully so, when it comes to clinical expertise.

Clinical Questions: Always Answer Urgent Needs

If the question is:

Clinical in nature

Requires your level of expertise

Is urgent (e.g., dosing medication, handling an emergency)

Answer it—no hesitation.

But what about non-clinical, administrative questions?

When Not to Answer Questions

What happens when you’re between patients, and a team member asks:

"Where should I file this report?"

"How do I handle this workflow issue?"

These are questions your team could easily find the answers to themselves—but they ask you because you always answer and are the shortest path to the solution.

A Real-Life Example: The Dermatologist’s Dilemma

I once coached a dermatologist running a busy rural practice, seeing 60 patients a day with a team of aestheticians.

She was overwhelmed because her staff interrupted her constantly with questions.

When I asked her:

"What do you do when they ask you questions?"

She said:

"Well, I answer them, of course."

And there’s the problem.

By answering every question, she had made her team dependent on her for everything.

The Breakthrough: Turning Questions Back on the Team

One day, the breakthrough happened.

Her new medical assistant asked:

"Dr. Smith, the flu vaccine’s in. What’s the dose?"

As she instinctively walked to her computer to look it up, she remembered what I had coached her to say:

"You know, Shirley, that’s a really good question. Why don’t you find that out and teach all of us at lunch?"

Game-changer.

By flipping the question back to the team member, she:

Freed up her own time

Built initiative within her team

Encouraged problem-solving

Building Initiative: Why It Matters

To build a high-performing team, you need to:

Increase their capacity to solve problems independently.

Stop being the default solution for issues they can resolve on their own.

Ask This Instead of Answering:

"That’s a great question. How are you going to find that out?"

"Once you do, come share it with the team at the next break."

Overcoming Physician Programming

Now, I know this runs counter to typical physician programming.

As a resident, you were conditioned to:

Always have the answer.

Be the expert.

Respond immediately.

It feels good when people come to you for answers—it feeds the ego.

But if you keep knee-jerk answering, you will:

Overload yourself.

Keep your team dependent.

Limit your team’s growth.

The “Monkey on Your Back” Problem

Let’s take it a step further.

Sometimes, your team will come to you with requests for help, essentially asking you to take responsibility for the next step in their process.

This is where Harvard Business Review’s classic article, Who’s Got the Monkey?, comes in.

The Monkey Metaphor

When a team member brings a task to you:

It’s like they have a monkey on their back.

If you say yes, that monkey jumps onto your back.

Multiply that by ten team members, and suddenly you’re carrying 20 monkeys, while everyone else is free.

Solution: Keep the Monkey with Its Owner

Before you say yes:

Ask: “Am I the best person for this next step?”

If not, send the monkey back:

"How do you plan to tackle this?"

"Come back and let me know what you discover."

Screening Inbound Requests

Every time a team member asks for your help or brings you a question:

Pause—take a breath.

Ask yourself:

Does this require my expertise?

Is this urgent?

Can they find the answer themselves?

Am I the right person for this task?

Respond accordingly:

If yes, help.

If no, turn it back to them and encourage them to teach the team after they find the answer.

Building a Self-Sufficient Team

By developing the habit of screening questions and requests, you:

Encourage independence

Empower your team to find solutions

Prevent burnout from unnecessary interruptions

Build a culture of trust and responsibility

Final Thoughts: Let Them Solve It

Just like my dermatologist client learned:

Stop answering every question.

Instead:

Believe in your team’s capability.

Hold them accountable for finding answers.

Encourage them to share knowledge with the group.

This approach builds a team that:

Takes initiative

Increases its capacity

Improves performance—all without relying on you as the shortcut.

Closing

That’s it for today.

Until we’re together again in the next podcast—keep breathing and have a great rest of your day.