Workplace Multiplier by Tola Akinsulire
September 24, 2026
Welcome to Workplace Multiplier, the weekday newsletter for senior leaders tired of fixing, chasing, and rescuing. You'll learn how to build a trusted, capable team that fully owns critical responsibilities...freeing you to lead at the level your role demands.
It wasn’t wrong. It just wasn’t how you would do it
Howdy ,
A team member brings you a piece of work.
It meets the objective.
The important information is there.
Nothing is materially wrong.
But the structure is not how you would have arranged it.
The wording is not what you would have used.
So, you rewrite it.
This feels like maintaining high standards.
But sometimes, it is something else.
I call it the Style Trap: treating your personal preference as though it were the only acceptable standard.
When this happens repeatedly, your team learns not to ask:
"What outcome is required?"
They learn to ask:
"How would my boss do this?"
Soon, they stop developing their own judgement. They produce drafts for you to finish because experience has taught them that the work will eventually be reshaped in your image.
Standards matter.
Accuracy, quality and brand consistency may be non-negotiable.
But different is not automatically wrong.
Before changing someone's work, ask:
Does this fail an agreed standard?
Does it create a meaningful risk?
Or is it simply different from my preferred approach?
Correct what is wrong.
Coach what could be stronger.
But when the work meets the required standard, allow it to look like someone else produced it.
Otherwise, you may get work done your way…but never build a team capable of working without you.
Keep winning at work and in life
Tola Akinsulire
Your Strategic Workplace Mentor
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