Dr. No - Is your team running you? Why it's time to stop carrying their monkeys

Hi there,

Rosa and I are back with another issue of Dr. No, bringing you strategies to lead smarter and work less. If this isn’t your vibe, feel free to opt out below—we’re still friends.

Today’s Dr. No is loaded with:
• A must-read book that flips traditional management on its head and gives cools tips on on managing time, delegation, and team accountability
• Two new AI tools to supercharge your work.
• A thought-provoking question to ponder.

Book Recommendation: The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey

Tired of carrying your team’s monkeys? It’s time to give them back.

Blanchard’s classic book introduces the idea of “monkeys”—tasks or problems that your team keeps throwing at you. If you keep collecting those monkeys, your day fills up with everyone else's work. Want to stop being the bottleneck? Here's how to let your team take back ownership:

1. Recognize the Monkeys

When a team member says, “Can you help with this?” or “What should we do next?”—they just handed you a monkey. If you accept it, that next step is now your responsibility.

Example:
An employee comes to you with an urgent contract to review. Instead of immediately jumping in, say, “What have you considered? What would you propose?”—let them carry their own monkey.

Ask yourself: Are you constantly taking on your team’s tasks? Time to spot those sneaky monkeys.

2. Don’t Be a Monkey Collector

Saying "yes" to every problem turns you into a zoo keeper—surrounded by everyone else’s monkeys. Your time vanishes, and your team never grows.

Interesting insight:
Why do some managers always run out of time, while their employees seem underworked? That’s the monkey syndrome. You’re overloaded with their tasks, and they’re waiting for you to solve them.

Pro tip: Next time a monkey comes your way, resist the urge to adopt it. Ask the right questions and hand it back.

3. Keep Monkeys Where They Belong

The person who brought up the issue should be the one to handle it. Keep the responsibility with the right owner.

Example:
When an employee asks for help, say, “You’re closer to this than I am. Go ahead with your recommendation, and we’ll review it at our next check-in.”

4. The Three Golden Rules for Monkey-Free Delegation

• Rule 1: Always define the next steps before leaving a meeting. Everyone must know who owns which monkey.
• Rule 2: Assign clear ownership—make sure it’s crystal clear who is handling what.
• Rule 3: Set deadlines. When will you review progress? When should those monkeys be fed?

Ask yourself: Are your team meetings clear on next steps, or do you walk away with all the monkeys?

5. Don’t Rescue Your Team—Empower Them

Your role isn’t to rescue your team but to coach them to solve their own problems. People only grow when they’re given space to take ownership and make decisions. This applies to legal teams, too.

Example for legal teams:
If someone asks for help on a compliance issue, instead of diving in, tell them, “I trust your judgment. Bring me three potential solutions, and we’ll discuss the best option together.”

Bonus: The Ultimate Monkey-Free Question for You

What’s one responsibility you’ve taken on that isn’t really yours? Is it time to give that monkey back to your team?

Family Bonus: What well-intended parents (too often) do

Kenneth Blanchard has a sharp observation about parenting, too:
“As parents, we have relieved our children of the burden of thinking about the next move. In doing so, we sometimes forget to give them the good things we had. That’s why kids today often don’t know what to do unless someone programs it for them.”

Interested in the book? Rosa and I will be giving away a copy to the first 20 people who send us a message asking for it.

Also check it out here: The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey

AI tools to supercharge your work:

✅ Rows: Use AI to analyze, summarize, and transform data, building better spreadsheets faster. Learn more here.

✅ PDF2Audio: Convert PDFs into an audito podcast, lecture or written summary with this open-source tool. Check it out here.

Final Thought

Look back ten years. You can probably spot a few blind spots or beliefs you’ve since outgrown. Now, fast forward ten years from today—
What might be your current blind spots? What are you not spending enough time thinking about, or perhaps even ignoring?

That’s all for today! We hope this sparked some thoughts on how to inspire change in your team (or yourself). As always, if you want to chat, just hit reply.

Best,
Manuel & Rosa