Leaders: Get Out of the Way

Dec 18

Let Your People Work

If your team can’t function without you constantly checking in, approving every decision, or sitting in every meeting, you’re not leading—you’re slowing them down.

Good leaders empower. Bad leaders micromanage. And if you’re always in the way, guess which one you are?

Here’s how to fix it.

1. Stop Overmanaging and Start Trusting

You hired smart people. Let them do their jobs.

If every project needs your approval, you’re a bottleneck.
If every task requires a meeting, you’re wasting time.
If your team is afraid to make decisions, you’re the problem.

Set clear expectations, give them what they need, then step back.

2. Delegate (For Real, Not Just on Paper)

Delegation isn’t dumping tasks—it’s giving ownership.

Bad delegation: “Here, do this, but I still want final approval on every step.”
Good delegation: “Here’s the goal. Let me know if you hit a roadblock.”

Trust your team to figure things out instead of hovering over them.

3. Kill the Unnecessary Meetings

If your calendar is full of status updates, you’re running your team like a surveillance state.

Replace meetings with asynchronous updates.
Make 1:1s useful—not just a box to check.
Give people back their time so they can actually do the work.

4. Create a Culture of Ownership, Not Approval

If every decision has to go through you, your business can’t scale. Period.

Set guardrails, not roadblocks. Give your team the power to act within clear boundaries.
Reward initiative, not permission-seeking. Let people take risks.
Make it clear: They don’t work for you—you work for them.

Final Thought: Lead, Don’t Hover

Leadership isn’t about control—it’s about clarity, trust, and getting out of the way. If you’re involved in every little thing, you’re slowing your team down instead of helping them grow.

Hire good people. Set the vision. Let them work. That’s leadership.

Bruen Creative Co.