🚩 Tactical Memo 040: Why Being “Good at Projects” Is Actually Holding Smart People Back
Justin Bateh
February 05, 2026
Read time: 4 minutes
Welcome to Tactical Memo, my newsletter where I share clear lessons and simple systems for people who run projects, lead teams, and make decisions.
If you want practical guidance you can use at work this week, you are in the right place.
👉 Why Read This Edition: You’ll see why being known as “good at projects” can quietly cap your career, and what to do so your value keeps rising instead of getting stuck.
What This Edition Covers
Why competence becomes a trap
How smart people get stuck doing the work
What leaders actually promote
How to move from execution to influence
The Problem
I see this all the time.
Someone is sharp. Organized. Reliable. They deliver. They clean up messes. They hit deadlines. Leaders trust them.
So they get more work.
At first, this feels like winning. More responsibility. More visibility. More praise.
Then the ceiling shows up.
They stay busy. Very busy. But they stop getting pulled into decisions. They stop being asked for judgment. They become the person who “runs projects” while others shape direction.
They are valued, but they are not elevated.
But what they don’t realize is….
Being good at projects often signals that you are safe to load up, not ready to move up.
The Mindset Shift
Organizations reward people who reduce risk at the top.
Execution builds trust.
Judgment builds leverage.
If all you show is execution, you’ll keep getting execution work.
The Tactical Playbook
1. Stop proving you can handle more work
Handling more work feels like strength. It is often the opposite. When you always say yes and absorb chaos, leaders see you as capacity, not leadership.
Example:
One person takes on every urgent project and saves the day. Another person pushes back, clarifies priorities, and asks what should slow down. The second person gets invited into planning. The first gets another project.
How you use this:
Before accepting work, ask what it replaces. If nothing replaces it, pause.
2. Shift from updates to decisions
Being good at projects usually means giving clean updates. Status. Timelines. Risks. That’s useful, but it’s not leadership.
Example:
Two people send updates. One lists progress. The other ends with, “Here are the two decisions we need.” Leaders remember the second person.
How you use this:
End every update with one clear decision request. No decision means no leverage.
3. Make trade-offs visible instead of hiding them
Strong project managers often protect leaders from discomfort. They smooth over trade-offs. That keeps things calm, but it hides reality.
Example:
A project is slipping, so someone works nights to keep it green. Leadership never sees the cost. The person burns out. Nothing changes.
How you use this:
When trade-offs appear, name them early. Say what speeds up and what slows down. Leaders promote people who tell the truth.
4. Stop being the fixer in the room
Fixers feel valuable. Fixers also stay stuck. When you solve every problem yourself, you train others to rely on you instead of stepping up.
Example:
A meeting goes off track. One person jumps in and fixes it. Another person asks who owns the issue and what decision is needed. Guess who looks like a leader.
How you use this:
Ask ownership questions instead of offering solutions first.
5. Spend less time managing tasks and more time framing work
Tasks keep projects moving. Framing keeps people aligned. AI is already taking over task work. Framing is where human value lives.
Example:
One leader tracks tasks perfectly. Another leader explains why the work matters and what success looks like. Teams follow the second one.
How you use this:
Start conversations with outcomes, not tasks.
6. Let small failures surface instead of covering them
Good project managers hide problems. Leaders surface them. Covering issues protects today and costs tomorrow.
Example:
A small risk gets hidden to keep things smooth. It grows. Now it’s expensive and public. The person who hid it loses trust.
How you use this:
Surface problems when they are still cheap to fix.
7. Decide faster than feels comfortable
Execution-focused people wait for clarity. Leaders create clarity. Waiting feels responsible. It often looks like hesitation.
Example:
Two people face incomplete data. One waits. One makes a call and adjusts later. Leaders trust the one who moves.
How you use this:
Make the call when you have enough information, not perfect information.
Your Moves
Notice where you say yes too fast. Pause next time.
Turn your next update into a decision request.
Name one trade-off you’ve been hiding.
Ask who owns the problem instead of fixing it.
Frame the next piece of work around outcomes, not tasks.
Make one decision today that you’ve been avoiding.
These moves shift how people see you fast.
The Upgrade:
AI will handle up to 80% of traditional PM work by 2030. The question isn’t if the role changes. It’s whether you do first. Join the top 1% of AI-powered leaders shaping how work gets done, while others are still managing tasks.
The skill gap is widening fast in 2026. Very few project leaders know how to do this well. And those who do will become trusted operators, lead critical initiatives, and grow their careers faster.
If this helped you, send it to someone who could use it this week.
Until next time,
Justin
✍️ From the Desk of Justin Bateh, PhD
Simple tactics. Real results. No fluff.
