You're surrounded by people who won't step up.

Nobody takes initiative. Nobody thinks. Everything routes back through you, and you've started saying the thing every frustrated man eventually says. If I want it done right, I have to do it myself.

Fine. Let's take that seriously. Say the people around you really are that passive. Where did they learn it?

They learned it from you. Not from a speech. From a hundred small moments you never registered as teaching. The time you took the project back because it was faster. The time you overruled a decision you'd already delegated. The time a man brought you a call he'd made on his own and you spent ten minutes explaining how you'd have done it. He ran the math. Thinking is expensive around here. Waiting is free.

Every leadership problem you have is a leadership problem you installed. That's not an insult, it's the good news. You can't fix what other people are. You can absolutely fix what you built.

So audit it honestly. What behavior are you actually rewarding? Not what you say you want in the meeting. What earns a man your trust, and what earns him a lecture. Then look at which one you hand out more.

The people around you aren't a problem you inherited. You're looking at your own work.