Entitlement is an invisible tax on leadership.
It quietly withdraws energy, clarity, and resolve.
When a team member expects reward without contribution, promotion without progress, or praise without performance, leaders grow tired.
Dare I say exhausted!
Not from the workload, but from the soul-work of carrying someone else’s unearned expectations.
It erodes morale, invites mediocrity, and clogs the arteries of momentum.
Every meeting becomes heavier.
Every conversation is diluted by defensiveness.
The culture?
Sluggish.
But where humility replaces entitlement, oxygen returns.
When a team member asks, “How can I help?” instead of “What do I get?”—the air clears.
Contribution compounds.
Collaboration deepens.
And the business begins to breathe again.
The entitled take energy.
The committed create it.
Entitlement stalls progress.
Ownership accelerates it.