Was I trying my best? Sure, but my best wasn't good enough for them. I had built a trusted advisor relationship with my clients, and over time that relationship became transactional. At that point, they no longer needed me to give them advice because they wouldn't only reach out to have things done.... and that made our organization replaceable in the eyes of my clients.

It's Not Fair For Your Other Clients - Your priorities carry more weight

I try to lead my team as a group of equals where everyone has a voice, but inevitably as leader, my words carry a heavier weight. That works well in team meetings where I can use my voice to push everyone to participate, but that additional influence also makes people feel that my clients are more important, and that just isn't fair for those clients that happen to be left off my list.

The fact of the matter is: perception matters. The clients belonging to the person who leads the team will be perceived to have unequal treatment. They may get additional face time. They may get priority responses. They may get advance notice of new opportunities. They may get all these advantages just because they are being taken care of by the team leader.

Even if it isn't true, perception is enough to skew how your team handles your requests from your clients. In the end, it's just not fair for the other clients that don't belong to you.

It's not fair for your teammates - You're not helping them grow by keeping your best clients

Odds are, you have some pretty great clients with whom you've built solid trusted advisor relationships with. When you transition to a leadership role your job is to help your team learn and grow, and the best way for the team to learn is to immerse in the work of existing clients who have already placed their trust in us.

Our accounts may be seen as the most prestigious, most challenging, or most complex - We have an opportunity to give our teams the chance to grow personally (and as a team) by taking over ownership of your clients. Our teammates have the right to battle through the same way we did to earn the trust of our clients, and our teammates will benefit from first-hand learning practical learning rather than third-hand academic knolwedge.

It's Not Fair For Yourself - You have a new job now