Growth or Control: You Choose.

One of the hardest truths in leadership is this:
You can have growth, or you can have control.

But not both.

Letting go is hard especially when you’ve been the one doing it all. If you built your company from the ground up, wore every hat, made every call, it makes total sense that you’d want to stay close. That instinct comes from care, pride, and a deep sense of responsibility.

But here’s the tension: what got you here won’t get you there.

When leaders hold on too tightly, it creates drag. Teams wait for approval. Ideas slow down. Initiative shrinks. Not because people aren’t capable but because they’re not being trusted to take the lead.

Micromanagement rarely looks like a power move. It usually shows up as protection. But the unintended message is loud: I don’t think you can handle this without me.

That message chips away at ownership, confidence, and momentum.

If you want real, sustainable growth, the shift isn’t to step away completely. It’s to step differently. To move from doing to enabling. From checking to coaching. From directing to designing systems that let others shine.

That means:

• Setting clear priorities, then backing off

• Accepting different styles and approaches

• Staying accessible, not inserted

• Encouraging decisions, not just execution
  
  
  

Letting go doesn’t mean lowering standards. It means building trust.
Growth only happens when people have room to rise.

And yes, that can feel risky. But it’s the kind of risk that creates legacy not just output.