I’m not sure how or why the term “people leader” became synonymous with “delegator”. I find it disturbing. I’m witnessing a rather ugly and rapid example of this transformation right now. Thankfully I am not directly involved with it. I’ve certainly experienced the end-result first hand, and it’s interesting to be on the outside looking in to how the process of a promotion actually changes someone. Granted, I am witnessing a worst-case scenario. There are people who get promotions and continue to do the exceptional work that got them promoted in the first place. I love those people. I’m not talking about them in this post. I’m talking about the ones who think their new title actually entitles them to something when really a title (degree, experience, famous contact, etc.) doesn’t entitle them to anything.
All of a sudden someone gets a promotion and they can’t be expected to read a presentation, get to meetings on time, or to actually have any capacity for detail. And they’re no longer doing actual work. They’re “supervising” the work of others. With the onset of a promotion, they emerge from their hard-working cocoon and blossom into the role of “idea people”. Gross. Whenever someone tells me he or she is an “idea person”, I immediately re-label them as “someone who can’t get anything done”. Everyone has ideas, and should work to bring those ideas to life. My problem with the self-proclaimed idea people is that they can’t actually execute anything. They need whole teams of talented people to get their ideas into the world. And somewhere along the line, corporations decided that idea people would get promoted and people who actually work would be the drones. What an ugly, backwards paradigm.
The consequences of such a system are equally ugly: 55% of Americans are not satisfied with their jobs and over 50% of Americans say their standard of living is not getting better. And here’s another interesting tidbit – 70 – 80% of job satisfaction has to do with how much an employee respects his or her boss. It has almost nothing to do with the actual work. And yet, what do corporations focus on during performance reviews and promotions? The work, not relationships. It’s all about results and not how those results were achieved, completely going against the grain of effective leadership.
The old adage of “it’s not what you say, but how you say it that counts” is not that far afield from “it’s not what you achieve, but how you achieve it that matters most”. If leaders want that title of leader, then they need to live up to their end of the bargain. They need to stop thinking of themselves as delegators and start thinking of themselves as motivators whose main purpose is to service their teams.
If 80% of job satisfaction has to do with leadership, then leaders should be putting at least that percentage of their working hours into actually supporting the people who work for them. If we can do that, then imagine the jumps we’d see in productivity, creativity, and happiness. And my money’s on the idea that a happy, productive, and creative workforce also leads to bigger profits.
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
I’m not sure how or why the term “people leader” became synonymous with “delegator”. I find it disturbing. I’m witnessing a rather ugly and rapid example of this transformation right now. Thankfully I am not directly involved with it. I’ve certainly experienced the end-result first hand, and it’s interesting to be on the outside looking in to how the process of a promotion actually changes someone. Granted, I am witnessing a worst-case scenario. There are people who get promotions and continue to do the exceptional work that got them promoted in the first place. I love those people. I’m not talking about them in this post. I’m talking about the ones who think their new title actually entitles them to something when really a title (degree, experience, famous contact, etc.) doesn’t entitle them to anything.
As you know, I follow your blog. I respond to your sincerity and compassion.
I love idea people. Keeping ideas alive and in discussion in the workplace contributes to a good energy and creative problem-solving. Performance evaluations must and often do take into account effective leadership. There have to be people to do the work. Isn’t this about one person who doesn’t deserve the promotion? or simply: Tell me more.
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Hi Rae!
Thanks as always for your comment. I wish I was at liberty to get into more of the details but for binding confidentiality agreements I can’t.
While this one person’s promotion has brought this idea to the front of my mind, I have certainly seen it happen many, many times in a lot of different companies. I love idea people, too, though I also firmly believe that everyone is an idea person and everyone is creative. The people that really irk me are the ones who call literally tell their teams “I’m the idea person. You’re the worker bee.” and expect others who they deem not as creative to do all of the execution work, especially when the execution is the lion’s share of getting the work out into the world. I don’t like when companies segregate and say person A is an idea person and person B is an execution person, and the two shall not meet.
I certainly agree that some people may have more aptitude or interest in one area more than another. What’s disturbing me in this particular situation that I’m writing about is the person who was promoted literally has decided to stop doing work and does nothing but delegate. And the team, full of very talented, creative people, are so unhappy with the shift in his attitude that they’re leaving. And the company is losing some very good people as a result.
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