The Leader That Lets Go

With summer coming to a close I can’t help but think of the phrase, “Lazy Days of Summer.” As a business owner, summer can be a good time to get away. But as most of you have probably experienced, getting away doesn’t always mean disconnecting. Each year I have physically exited the business every July to spend time with my two girls.  While they are well-rounded and incredible little people, I often wonder if they have suffered since they seem to spend more time with sitters than they do with me or my husband.  So to curb this guilt, I allow myself one month out of the year to be with them. We cherish this sacred time.

For the last few years, it has been a running joke that July is our company’s best month.  Is it because I bust my butt in June to get things ready to leave? Or is it because I allow the team the chance to do things without me?  I am finally able to see clearly and know that it is the latter! My absence allows the team to flourish in their strengths. When leaders actually step back and lean on the team to make things happen, they become observers instead of dominant, active forces.

Does allowing the team this freedom require leaders to be physically absent? Or can this dynamic be fostered year-round?  I think that it can happen, but not naturally or easily. Taking the observer role means removing yourself from the equation and empowering the team to do the things that they do best.  Letting go is terrifying as a leader and entrepreneur.  At first it feels as if you are allowing your company to spin out of control. Much like when you first let go of your child and allow her to ride the bike without training wheels, you await the big crash. I had anxiety attacks when I first attempted to let go. I was terrified of failure.

However, the child on the bike eventually learns to ride, and is able to ride much faster and with more joy after they get the hang of it. They can do more when they no longer depend on you to hold them up. Also with companies: over time, your company or group should grow beyond what you would be able to do on your own when you let go and allow them to thrive.

 “If your business depends on you, you don’t own a business, you have a job. And it’s the worst job in the world because you’re working for a lunatic.” — Michael Gerber,   The E Myth

Ask yourself this question: What would happen to your group or company if you took off for a month? If the answer is that everything would fall apart, then you have made yourself too important to the company’s success. Why spend so much time working in the business, instead of on the business? An exceptional leader builds a company that can function without them. An exceptional leader builds the machine, but allows the machine to do the work. An exceptional leader creates a system in which the employees can thrive, and together, the employees as a team can accomplish more than the leader can accomplish alone. I hope you enjoy the final weeks of summer!