The colleagues you always turn to, and what it costs the rest
When something urgent lands, most managers reach for the same few people. The rest of the team notices, and the gap in coaching and opportunity widens without anyone deciding it should.
THE QUICK ANSWER
Many managers believe they treat everyone equally, yet go to the same two people whenever something urgent arrives. It is not a judgement about ability; it simply takes less energy than coaching someone who is not there yet. As a result, quieter or harder-to-read people receive less coaching, feedback and opportunity. The fix is to ask yourself once a week who you have not gone to.
GO DEEPER
How easy choices create an uneven team
Under pressure, people reach for whatever feels safest and quickest. Giving urgent work to someone who has handled it before removes uncertainty and saves explaining. Each individual choice seems sensible, and it rarely feels like favouritism in the moment.
Repeated over months, those choices add up. The same few people collect the stretching work, the visibility and the feedback that comes with it, while others are left with routine tasks. The rest of the team notices the pattern even if you do not, and the people who most need development receive the least of it.
The video’s fix is a deliberate weekly check: ask yourself who you have not gone to. A practical moment to do this is just before you hand over this week’s urgent task. Pausing to look at who you are about to choose makes the pattern visible before it repeats.
This does not mean giving critical work to someone unprepared simply to balance the numbers. It may mean pairing a less experienced person with a reliable one, or offering a smaller piece of the urgent job. The aim is to spread opportunity on purpose rather than by habit.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Opportunity follows habit unless you check it. Before handing out the next urgent task, ask who you have not gone to lately.
TEST YOURSELF
