Letting Go for Growth: The Art of Releasing Your Grip in Business

The old saying "letting go is hard" resonates deeply with many of us - especially in the context of business. 

It’s a sentiment I’ve personally grappled with and I’m often envious of those who seem to effortlessly release control. For me, my inability to “let go” is likely rooted in a host of beliefs I inherited from my immigrant parents around safety and trust, and my experience backing up those beliefs. 

It’s almost as if I let go of my grip, everything I’ve worked so hard to build will slip through my fingers. Some might call that practical, I might call it a scarcity mindset.

That kind of thinking is incredibly normal and common in business. 

The Subtle Irony of Scaling Your Business.

For many business owners, especially those who have built their enterprises from the ground up, identifying what actions to take isn't the issue. 

The real challenge lies in discerning what not to do. 

It can be incredibly daunting. 

The typical progression for business owners is to start as a one-person operation who wears “all the hats”, then gradually expand by adding assistants or virtual assistants (VAs), online business managers (OBMs), and other team members who can support clients and attract new ones.

However, instead of creating a clear growth strategy, business owners often find themselves stuck in a paradoxical situation. 

They hired other team members to relieve themselves of efforts, but what happens is they end up overseeing every aspect of their business, which can be overwhelming and exhausting. This tendency can lead to stagnation and a plateau in business growth.

Which is why, when I advise business owners to identify where they can "let go," I'm often met with a chorus of "I can'ts":

"I can't because there is no one to oversee this part of the process."

"I can't because no one understands this like I do."

"I can't because my name is on the business."

"I can't because __________ (fill in your version here)."

Sound familiar? 

But if you want  to finally enjoy freedom, money and the reward of your efforts, doing it all isn’t a strategy that will result in achieving your personal vision.

The Bottleneck Paradox

Letting go can be challenging because, as a business owner, you may have unintentionally created a system in which you are the bottleneck (yes, that can be hard to hear, but stay with me for a bit).

You may be attached to the idea that without you, the whole system will fail. But this idea, you may not have the right team members in place to help you break free from this bottleneck. 

To achieve real growth and scalability, it's critical that you have the right people with the right skills in the right positions.

Now, that might seem obvious, but not always easy to achieve. 

When working with businesses that have plateaued, the first thing I do is diagnose. I assess the team’s strengths, motivations, communication challenges and roles to determine what might be driving stagnation (and yes, I get the irony of those two words).

I look to see how time is being utilized and search for team members who might be frustrated, overwhelmed, or lack a clear sense of how they fit into the organization. They often provide incredible insights as to what can be improved upon as they are unlikely to perform at their best, perpetuating the cycle of the business owner doing too much.

Often this simple step opens up a lot for the business owner because it provides the first real glimpse into what it might look and feel like to let go. It provides the first sense of hope that when you change a few critical things on how your team functions, the world can actually change!

Navigating Towards Release and Growth

I recently worked with a business owner who recognized that he was the bottleneck in his company. 

He felt overwhelmed and unable to sleep due to the immense workload. This wasn't the kind of business he had envisioned building - where he was working non-stop, even with a team of 6. Upon examining his team with me, he realized that he had surrounded himself with individuals who mirrored his workaholic tendencies, resulting in a perpetual cycle of overwork without clear direction.

He saw that he was perpetuating this culture of doing by focusing on values such as tenacity, perfection and service-at all costs. 

During our collaboration, he came to understand that his strengths lay in solving problems and going deep into specific areas, but he lacked the organizational and leadership skills needed to drive the business forward. 

We assessed the team and concluded that there was no one internally suited to step in and take leadership over his systems, processes and direct execution (as we said, he had hired people who operated very similarly to the way he did). 

So instead, he immediately realized he needed to hire someone with the qualifications he lacked.

Too often, when forming teams, we seek individuals who are similar to ourselves. This approach may not be in the best interest of the business - especially when you’re trying to grow beyond 7-figures. By clearly seeing his team’s current strengths, he was able to get to the root cause of his problems. 

Within days, he decided he needed a Chief Operating Officer (COO) who excelled in creating systems and maintaining order allowing my client to begin relinquishing control gradually.

While he is still in the process of letting go, his team now operates with clarity. He can instead focus on creating a vision to guide his other team members, communicate the company's strengths more effectively, attract better clients, and his team is more hopeful overall.

This story emphasizes a crucial point: 

Letting go doesn't equate to falling apart. It creates space for growth and unity. 

The next step we’re working on is leveraging his team’s leadership strengths so that he can continue to let go and focus on the things that will actually propel his business toward multi-seven figure growth without having to work himself into the ground!

Ready to Let Go?

As you reflect on your own business and team, consider the following questions:

1. Are you inadvertently the bottleneck in your business?

2. What aspects of your business could you begin to let go of to facilitate growth and scalability?

Remember that loosening your grip on certain aspects of your business can lead to enhanced productivity, innovation, scalability, work-life balance, and skill development—benefits that are well worth the initial discomfort of letting go. 

Embrace the journey of growth and expansion, and watch your business flourish as you navigate the delicate balance between control and progress.

If you're struggling to let go and need guidance on building a self-sufficient, self-sustaining, self-driven team, reach out to us for a consultation. It's time to unlock your business's full potential.

Linda

About Linda Perry:  Linda a mindset coach & business strategist, speaker and recovering attorney who has helped hundreds of people crack their own success code and find greater freedom, make more money and find balance.

She spent 17 years as a federal criminal defense attorney in Chicago, and left only to to pursue her passion in coaching and business strategy (particularly with a focus on marketing and copy) after witnessing how much it impacted her life and helped her redefine success. 

With certifications from the esteemed Ford Institute, established by best selling author and teacher Debbie Ford, and from the Levin Life Coach Academy, where she is the lead business instructor guiding life coaches how to build a profitable life coach business -  Linda works with business owners & agencies looking to develop a team poised to grow to $3-5M in revenue..

She is the host of the Higher Ground Roundtable and regularly is a guest speaker on a variety of podcasts and stages focused on using mindset tools to get further. Linda currently lives in Lisbon, Portugal but works remotely with teams around the world and frequently returns to the US to workshop with clients and their teams.