How do I empower my employee with her communication?
In a few weeks, I’ll reach my one-year mark as a first-time supervisor. I inherited a team of three long-tenured employees. Two have been in the department for 10+ years. The third has been with the company on/off for 20+ years (in our department for two).
Because our company policies change frequently, she and I share an office and spent much of this past year learning new processes together. Part of her role is managing the department inbox, handling policy questions and clarification requests. All the answers are accessible on our department page, and I’m always available if she truly needs guidance.
The issue is that she has developed a habit of asking me to review her drafted replies for anything beyond a basic FAQ. At least once a day, she reads a drafted email out loud to ask if it’s okay.
Her drafts are always solid, and I rarely have edits. Every time, I validate her work, point out what she did well, and remind her that she knows the material.
Despite this positive feedback, the habit continues.
It’s becoming mentally draining while I’m trying to focus on other high-priority problem-solving. I want to empower her to trust her judgment and gain peace of mind, but I’m not sure how to transition out of this review loop.
I’ve even suggested she run her responses through AI to get a better feel of anything else she could have included or clarified, but she refuses. No judgement, I respect the decision, but I can’t get her to move away from wanting my eyes on these emails.
Any advice on how to build her confidence and set gentle boundaries here?