Summary3 min read

Nonprofit Mastermind Podcast

Episode: O is for Overfunctioning: Doing Everyone’s Job = Not Doing Yours
Host: Brooke Richie-Babbage
Date: August 19, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode tackles the pervasive challenge of overfunctioning among nonprofit leaders—specifically, the tendency to “do everyone’s job” rather than focusing on the unique work only leaders can do. Brooke Richie-Babbage explores the hidden costs of swooping in and “fixing” your team’s work, how this undermines both team growth and organizational impact, and introduces practical frameworks—“guardrails and gate”—for handing off tasks effectively and building real ownership.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Overfunctioning Defined and Its Cost

Brooke opens with a relatable self-inquiry:
“How much of your week is spent quietly thinking, I'll just fix this a little so it goes out right?” ([01:08])
The Hidden Cost:
Whereas taking back or tweaking “feels efficient in the moment,” it actually trains your team to rely on you to finish or polish work—resulting in a team with lower ownership and stunted growth.
Quote:
“Every time you swoop in, even a little baby swoop, you train your team to rely on you. People learn somewhere in their minds, if I hand this in, 70% done, she'll fix it.” ([01:38])
Key Point:
Overfunctioning is not a positive sign of high standards, but often a side effect of them. The real organizational damage happens when leaders repeatedly cross the line into doing others’ work.

The Impact on Leadership and Team

Brooke addresses the leadership trap:
“That's not leadership. That's over functioning.” ([01:58])
Quotable Moment:
“Training wheels never come off if you never let them wobble and sometimes fall.” ([02:20])
Leadership Cost:
Every minute spent “rewriting someone else’s work” is a minute not being spent on the big-picture tasks only the leader can accomplish: vision, strategy, resource development, and cultivating partnerships.

The Alternative: Ownership With Structure

Solution Framework: “Guardrails and Gate” ([03:20])
- Guardrails:
  - Clearly define “done right” in simple terms—three bullets that cover:
    - The purpose
    - A quality bar
    - Any constraints
  - Enables team members to understand expectations, direction, and success criteria.
- Gate:
  - Set a scheduled midpoint check-in (a short, time-limited meeting, not a last-minute rescue).
  - Ask key questions:
    - What’s complete?
    - What’s stuck?
    - What decision do you need from me?
    - Are we still aiming at the same definition of success?
- Memorable Advice:
  “After that midpoint check in, you step back, you coach once, but you don't take it back.” ([04:30])
- SOP Creation:
  “Capture the steps while you do it. That way you end up with a quick SOP… that makes the next handoff even smoother.” ([04:50])

Micro-Action and Resources

Actionable Task:
“Pick one recurring task that keeps boomeranging back to you and use the guardrails and gate framework to practice transferring it.” ([05:04])
Tools and Prompts:
- A “role release tracker” (worksheet for the process)
- The “delegation ladder” (tool for staged ownership transfer)
- Additional resources and emails available at brookeritchiebabbage.com/abcstrategies

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

“Over functioning robs your team of growth. And it robs your organization of your best version of leadership.” ([02:45])
"Work doesn’t need your rescue, it needs guardrails and a gate." ([03:18])
“Coach once, but don’t take it back.” ([04:31])
“Training wheels never come off if you never let them wobble and sometimes fall.” ([02:20])

Important Timestamps

00:00 — Introduction and episode context
01:08 — Identifying personal overfunctioning moments
01:38 — The consequences of “baby swoops”
02:20 — Letting your team learn (training wheels quote)
02:45 — Leadership cost of overfunctioning
03:18 — Introduction of “guardrails and gate” framework
04:31 — Coaching moments and the importance of letting go
05:04 — Action step for listeners and resource offer

Summary

Brooke Richie-Babbage’s episode on overfunctioning is a concise and practical guide for nonprofit leaders struggling to delegate. She illustrates the real cost of doing others’ jobs, reframes high standards, and offers straightforward tools for building ownership and effective delegation. Leaders are encouraged to move away from the “rescuer” role and step fully into visionary leadership, armed with simple but powerful systems to build stronger, more independent teams.

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Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
A
Welcome to Design youn Strongest year ever, a 26 day special edition of the nonprofit Mastermind podcast. I'm your host, Rukruchi Babbage. I created this series because I believe that how your year ends is determined by what you do now in August, not in November. My work is rooted in the idea that intentional design, not more hustle, is what determines how far your mission can scale. So every day I'll share one very simple but very powerful lesson, shift or tool you can use right now to prepare yourself for year end and for each one. If you sign up for the emails that go with these episodes, I've created a worksheet or prompt. You can collect them as you go and have a whole bundle. Finally, if the day's topic hits a nerve, I'll point you towards the most relevant of my implementation toolkits. For the length of this series, I'm offering 26% off all purchases. Let's dive in. How much of your week is spent quietly thinking, I'll just fix this a little so it goes out right. It feels efficient in the moment to take back work. To tweak it. To fix it, you hit send. The report looks sharp, the great narrative is polished and exactly the way you want it to be. But there's a real hidden cost. Every time you swoop in, even a little baby swoop, you train your team to rely on you. People learn somewhere in their minds, if I hand this in, 70% done, she'll fix it. He'll take care of it. He'll make it the way he wants it to be. That's not leadership. That's over functioning. Over functioning isn't a sign of high standards. It is often a function of high standards. Right? We want things to be a certain way. But when we step over the line into over functioning, into taking things back, into tweaking, essentially doing other people's work for them, it becomes an organizational design flaw and it looks to your team like you are taking back ownership. Right? It locks them out of their own ownership. Training wheels never come off if you never let them wobble and sometimes fall. Now this matters because every hour that you spend rewriting someone else's work, taking a look, checking in on someone else's email before it goes out, that's an hour you're not doing, the job only you can do. Casting, vision, securing resources, building the partnerships that move your work forward, over functioning robs your team of growth. And it robs your organization of your best version of leadership. So what's the alternative? It's ownership with structure work doesn't need your rescue, it needs guardrails and a gate. Guardrails are Write it down in three bullets what done right actually means, its purpose, a quality bar and constraints. Clear Guardrails mean people know the lane they're driving in, the direction they're supposed to go in, and how they know if they've succeeded. And then it needs a gate. Instead of waiting until the end to rewrite, set up a 10 minute midpoint check in that you know counts as a milestone for something that matters to you and ask what's complete? What's stuck? What decision do you need from me, right? Is this still on the right track? Are we still aimed at the same definition of success? After that midpoint check in, you step back, you coach once, but you don't take it back. And here's the kicker. Capture the steps while you do it. That way you end up with a quick SOP standard operating procedure that makes the next handoff even smoother. So your micro action for today. Pick one recurring task that keeps boomeranging back to you and use the guardrails and gate framework to practice transferring it. In today's email that goes along with this podcast, I am going to include both a role release tracker to walk you through the guardrails and gate process and a copy of my delegation ladder, which walks through all of the stages of eventually delegating fully and transferring true ownership to the people on your team. You can grab the emails@brooke ritchiebabbage.com abcstrategies and if you're ready for the entire system, plug and play that makes delegation stick. The hiring frameworks, the SOP templates, the standards that keep quality high. Check out my HR in a Box bundle. It's got everything you need to set up real ownership on your team.