When I was a leader within an organization, I was often referred to as “the fixer.” The calm in the chaos. The bridge between silos. A friend even nicknamed me “Olivia Pope.”

No, I wasn’t covering up government scandals, but I was walking into high-stakes situations, smoothing over cross-functional drama, aligning strong personalities (mine included), and leaving behind a beautifully written, color-coded plan. I wore the badge of “the fixer” as a badge of honor.

Almost ten years ago, I started my business and thought I was leaving the fixer role behind.

I wasn’t.

It took me five years to realize I had brought that exact pattern with me. Because overfunctioning was the only way I knew how to lead. In the early days of entrepreneurship, I unconsciously created situations where I could overfunction and then solve the mess I created.

This week, I’m breaking down what overfunctioning actually is, why it’s a leadership liability (especially for women), and how to finally stop doing it.

What Is Overfunctioning?

Overfunctioning is when you consistently take on more responsibility.  

It often sounds like:

• “It’s just easier if I do it myself.”
• “I need to be in the loop, or things will fall through.”
• “They are just not ready. I’ll take care of it.”

It’s not coming from weakness. It’s coming from your hyper-competence, which is exhausting.

And before you know it, you have built a system around you that depends on it.

For me, the moment hit after another meeting where I’d played therapist, referee, and strategist again. When it was done, I grabbed a 4 pm coffee, powered through my to-do list, and hours later, I was the last one in the office. Again.

As I packed up and started the commute home, that quiet question crept in:
“Why am I the only one who sees this isn’t working?”

What I didn’t realize then was that my overfunctioning wasn’t fixing the problem.
It was the problem.

And when I started my own business, I thought: “Freedom! I’ll do things my way.”

Which I did…
But I also brought the same habit with me.

In the early years of my entrepreneurial journey, I found myself:

• Overdelivering to prove my value
• Customizing everything because I could
• Emotionally carrying my clients’ breakthroughs like they were mine to create
• Working late because “this launch/offer/client” needed just one more touch

Turns out, overfunctioning doesn’t care if you’re in a boardroom or a home office; it will follow you until you stop feeding it.

Why Overfunctioning Is a Leadership Liability

Let’s call it what it is: Overfunctioning is control wrapped in concern, and it’s caretaking disguised as competence.

And it creates:

• Teams that perform, but don’t partner
• Colleagues who wait instead of leading
• Organizations full of surface-level trust and slow decision-making

And let’s not forget: women are especially praised for this behavior, until it burns us out.

Senior women leaders are leaving at the highest rate in years. One major reason is that they’re shouldering invisible labor and emotional weight at scale, and the system doesn’t change, it just expects more.

This isn’t just a personal pattern. It’s a systemic issue.

But here’s the kicker: it can’t shift until you do.

5 Signs You’re Overfunctioning 

1. You’re constantly jumping in to “move things along” because you don’t trust it’ll happen otherwise.
2. You’re cleaning up work or smoothing over conflicts your team should be handling.
3. You’re in nearly every meeting, even ones that shouldn’t need you.
4. You take emotional responsibility for the entire team’s well-being (but yours is an afterthought).
5. You’ve tried coaching, off-sites, or reorgs, and nothing sticks.

This isn’t about effort. You’re not lazy or unclear.

It’s about the system you’re in and the one you’re unintentionally reinforcing by overfunctioning.

High-functioning doesn’t always mean healthy.

So What Do You Do Instead?

1. Name it.  Overfunctioning often hides behind “being helpful.” Start by asking: Am I leading or rescuing?
2. Redesign the system.  This is about more than mindset. It’s about structure, culture, expectations, and accountability, built intentionally.
3. Get support that doesn’t just tell you to “let go.”  You don’t need fluffy trust falls or one-size-fits-all leadership advice. You need grounded, expert support that knows how to shift real patterns inside real power dynamics.

Overfunctioning isn’t a leadership strength. And for high-performing women, it can be incredibly sneaky because it masquerades as commitment, excellence, and care.

But the truth is: carrying it all doesn’t make you a better leader. It makes you the bottleneck. The cost is your energy, your vision, and your team’s growth. The good news is that you can lead differently. And it starts with choosing not to be the fixer anymore.

If this resonates and you’re ready to stop being the one holding it all, fixing what shouldn’t be broken, and quietly burning out behind the scenes, I want to personally invite you to apply for Your Leadership Edge.

This is my high-touch program for women ready to shift from overfunctioning to aligned, effective leadership.

You don’t need another offsite.
You need a real transformation.

Apply now and let’s build the kind of leadership team and leadership presence you’ve always known was possible: clear, collaborative, and no longer riding on your back.

Apply here for Your Leadership Edge.

You’ve overfunctioned long enough. Let’s build what’s next.