Not sure how to interpret feedback.

Not sure how to interpret feedback.

Last year I was assigned to help with a senior engineer's project because it was too much for one person. There are three different projects all separately headed - he's technically both the team lead and owns one of the projects, but he's not always good at distinguishing which hat to wear.

I don't think the lead is bad at his job, per se - he's very good technically with the project, but he doesn't actively pursue the 'lead' side of things.

I've been taking on some of the lead work he should be doing, like coordinating with our other team members to remove obstacles and facilitate work, and performing quality alignments on our combined deliverables.

He's also away from his desk quite a bit - it's not unusual for someone to reach out to me because they have questions and can't get in touch with him. (That's been the case since we started working together.)

My manager has noticed - during our previous one on one, she said it seems I've been doing a fair bit of the work. I was glad she noticed - the lead has been out during the review period for the last few assignments, and I put in a lot of effort to finalize them before the release. However, she hinted that she wanted me to be less involved.

This time, she pointed out I seem to have become the point person for the team, but that what I'm doing is something someone else can do.

I'm confused as to whether this is negative feedback - is she gently telling me to stay in my lane because I've overstepped? Or is she nudging me away from what can be seen as glue work/unfair work distribution?

I don't think the lead himself has an issue with it.

When I noticed myself circling the Drain of Additional Responsibility, I made a point to reach out and confirm that I wasn't stepping on his toes - I tend to be outspoken, which I know can be both an asset and a curse. He said it was a substantial help, and I made it clear that if that ever changed, he could say so and I would get out of the way.

I guess part of me thought this would be positively received - I'm invested in the team's success, and have been going above and beyond. But maybe in the wrong direction?