A problem that one person avoids remains one person's problem. A problem that a leader avoids becomes the team's problem, often in a form that is larger, more entrenched, and harder to address than it would have been at the start. The calculus is different for a leader because the consequences of avoidance do not stay contained. They compound, and they compound quietly, which is what makes it dangerous.

Naming the dragon was the work of clarity. You identified it precisely: the fear, the pattern, the external barrier, the internal resistance. But identification is not the same as confrontation. The dragon is still in the room. It is still between you and the thing you are building. Naming it did not move it. And it will remain there for as long as you are willing to stand at the door and study it rather than walk through it.