Talk it through with Aurelius
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Aurelius · Work & Leadership
Knowledge + Guidance

Why do I have to fly it and fix it too?

You can fly the drone. You can also repair it when it breaks. This makes you useful, and useful people get handed more than their share — not because others are cruel, but because no one objects when it works. The resentment is not proof of injustice. It is proof that you agreed to something out loud to no one, including yourself. Your team cannot read what you have not said. They see a capable person doing two jobs smoothly and assume you chose it. What is within your power: naming the split you actually want, and asking for it directly. What is not within your power: being recognized for a sacrifice you never disclosed.

◆ How this problem reads on the two dials
GuidanceKnowledge
More coaching
A little to learn
1:1 with AureliusWith others (a Pod)
Some one-to-one
Practise with peers
The problem is mostly a stuck pattern of unspoken role-absorption, so the page should mostly coach direct action rather than teach new concepts.
How the two dials adapt to you →
What’s really going on

You took on both roles without saying so, and now you resent what you never named. Choose one thing: ask your team plainly to share the mechanic's work, or admit you chose it and stop performing the resentment. Silence is not humility — it is avoidance wearing competence as a mask.

🔒 What you’ll build togetherUnlock by starting
A moveWrite one sentence naming the two jobs you are doing — pilot, mechanic — as separate roles, not one.
A moveBring that sentence to your team this week. Ask who else can take the mechanic's half, even partially.
A moveIf no one can, choose consciously: say 'I will keep both for now' out loud to the group, and let the resentment go — you chose it.
A moveSet a date, 30 days out, to revisit the split. Do not let 'for now' become permanent by default.
A moveStop fixing silently the next time something breaks. Say what it cost you before you pick up the tool.
PractiseName the Second Job · a Pod of 4 · 30 min

What changes unlock by starting

  • A clear, spoken division of labor instead of an assumed one.
  • Either real help with maintenance, or a conscious choice to keep both roles without quiet resentment.
  • Your team knows what you actually do and what it costs you.
  • Less energy spent resenting a situation you have the power to name and change.

Related problems

One object, two jobs: a public answer to a real problem, and — the moment you start the chat — Aurelius’s live plan for your version of it.