Good leadership is like catching a bird. You want to hold the bird gently because if you hold it too tightly, you’ll crush its wings. If held correctly, when you let go of the bird, it will fly. If you hold onto control of your company too tightly, you’ll crush your employees’ spirits. Micromanaging, taking everything on yourself, and inflexibility can all tighten your grip on the company. This creates a pressure that makes it hard for your staff to thrive. Spiritual leaders know that the best way to lead is to sometimes let go and let your employees take flight.
Control Is An Illusion
Before you can begin to loosen your grip, you need to first understand that control is not real. Control stems from an emotional attachment to the ideal outcome. It is created from the fear you will not reach that outcome. Sometimes it is the fear you won’t do enough to reach the ideal outcome. People deal with this fear in a number of ways, but the most common is to try to control actions and events leading up to the outcome. The expectation that if you do certain things, you can control the outcome is false. No one has control over the world, other people, or outcomes. As the Buddha said, “You can only lose what you cling to.” When you let go of the illusion of control, you will quickly see that you get closer to your ideal outcomes.
Letting Go Encourages Accountability
By letting go of control, you encourage your staff to take on more responsibility. This creates a sense of positive accountability. When your staff knows that you are relying on them, they’ll feel empowered to do their best. This accountability leads to pride in their work and will ensure that they do their best when working on the project. Further, letting go shows that you trust them and their work, which in turn builds an even larger sense of accountability. This accountability will encourage them to work harder and put more attention into their work.
Letting Go Builds Confidence
When you let go, you show that you trust your team. As a leader, your trust is very important to your team. When you trust them, it shows you have confidence in their abilities. Your confidence will naturally build their confidence. As your team becomes more confident in themselves, they’ll deliver their best work. Over time, your team will seek to take on more responsibility and even propose new ideas and ways to improve tasks. These things will all bring you closer to your ideal outcomes.
Letting Go Gives You More Time To Thrive
The best part about letting go is that with your team empowered to do the work, you can focus on the big picture. The more that comes off your plate, the more time you’ll have every day. You can use that time to focus on your strengths as a leader. You can spend this time on company strategy, ideation, and direction. Rather than trying to do everything, you can do what you are best at doing: Leading your team to success!
When it comes to leading, think about your company as flowing water. You can guide and direct the course of the flowing water if you act with intention. However, you cannot just grab the water and move it. When you let go, you can still lead your team and you may find that outcomes are better than expected. I talk about this and other strategies for being a spiritual leader in The OM Factor. Recently, I released it on audiobook to help busy leaders like you get more out of your time. In it are strategies that can help you learn to let go and begin to truly thrive.
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