The Paradox of Control: Letting Go to Scale Up

Jul 22

Business growth and competence to achieve it are often equated with the level of control that founders and leaders have. The more control you have, the more competent the whole team is going to be, which may result in effective scaling, right? The same is considered to be true for personal life; control equals power. Is that correct? Well, it’s not necessarily true. Micromanagement can be quite limiting and may negatively affect business scaling. Here lies the paradox – if you want to scale, you have to let go of the need to control everything. Control may seem comforting, but scaling isn’t about comfort. How to let go to scale up, then? Scroll down to find out.

Table of Contents

Why control isn’t the right way?
Letting go isn’t abdication
How to let to go to scale up?
Conclusion
References

Why control isn’t the right way?

In the very beginning of the company’s journey, control is leveraged because founders are the ones who try to get everything started, sign all contracts, and approve all decisions. Soon after that, customer demands go up, team size increases, and you need to expand the products or services you’re providing. If you still control every aspect of your company, you may soon miss out on great opportunities and strategic maneuvers because you are too busy focusing on less important processes and operations. When that happens, growth becomes stress, and it’s difficult to scale properly.

Evidence confirms that micromanagement, the need to control everything, can be beneficial in certain short-term situations. However, in the long run, it does more harm than good. Micromanagement is associated with low employee morale, high staff turnover, and decreased productivity. Plus, it reduces growth potential.

Control isn’t the right approach for business scaling because it affects creativity, dampens motivation, and undermines autonomy. Autonomy is an important part of job satisfaction; employees appreciate when managers and executives trust them. They like to have some degree of independent decision-making. Through poor autonomy and lack of dependence, control negatively affects job satisfaction. Moreover, control isn’t the right approach for moving forward in your life either. The more control you have, the more resistance you’re going to experience.

Letting go isn’t abdication

Control doesn’t scale, which is why it’s necessary to let go. Once you lessen the grip on control, you create space for opportunities you have never seen coming. That happens because micromanagement takes the focus away from important operations. You don’t get to dedicate time to priorities when you’re too busy focusing on relatively insignificant details.

Letting go isn’t abdication, it doesn’t mean you’re giving up. Instead, it means building the infrastructure to replace your involvement with trust, clarity, and repeatable execution.

Scaling up, both personally and professionally, requires a mindset change where your value isn’t in solving problems. Instead, it is in designing a system that solves the problem for you. After all, real freedom isn’t in controlling life, but about flowing with it.

How to let to go to scale up?

Scaling up is simple – it means you have to let go of the need to control. Doing so, however, is easier said than done. These tips will help you make it happen.

Delegate

Sometimes people unintentionally end up in micromanagement territory because they don’t know how to delegate. Research suggests that delegation may offer more freedom to work autonomously and experience positive outcomes such as higher job satisfaction, organizational commitment, task performance, and innovative behavior. Delegation also motivates people to sharpen their skills and expertise.

Make sure to assign tasks that are suitable for every employee’s strengths and goals. Delegating tasks to other team members gives them the opportunity to learn and grow in their role. By letting go of control and relinquishing some of the responsibility, you get more time to focus on activities that are of higher priority and may yield the highest returns.

Stop being the point of approval

If your team members still have to wait for your input before making any type of move, you haven’t delegated properly. Think about it this way - if they don’t own decisions, they can’t own the outcomes, good or bad. Define your expectations, make them clear, and step back. The goal isn’t to make every decision yourself, but to ensure decision-making criteria are explicit.

Don’t focus on perfectionism

Perfectionism prevents you from letting go and impairs your productivity as well. Always remember that there’s more than one way to get something done. Empower your team members to experiment with their ideas and test new approaches to solving a specific problem. You can do the same when trying to let go of control in personal life, too – empower others instead of urging them to do something the same way as you would.

Reward creativity, but prepare yourself for potential mistakes and failures. Should the unwanted scenario happen, consider it a growth opportunity for the entire team. That’s how they improve, which ultimately helps businesses scale up.

Hire wisely

You are less likely to control and micromanage qualified, talented, innovative, and creative people. Always make sure a potential team member is up for the task in terms of knowledge, talent, and skills. Every bad hire comes with financial consequences. You don’t want to waste money and time on unsuitable candidates. Instead, make sure hiring criteria are specific, clear, and dedicate enough time to find the right person.

Other strategies to let go and scale up

In addition to the abovementioned approaches, which are essential, there are many other things you can do to let go of control and ensure you scale up properly. Some of them are:
● Ask people how you could support them
● Show faith in others’ skills and abilities
● Be aware of your needs and those of others
● Develop and use a coaching mindset
● Set non-negotiables in terms of standards you expect

Conclusion

Control may seem a comforting and effective way to lead and build your company, regardless of its size. Although it may work, it’s not the right approach for long-term growth. Letting go to scale up gives you more freedom to dedicate to your passions and priorities. Show faith and trust in people, set clear expectations, and allow others to learn and grow as well. Letting go is also important for advancing in your personal life, too don’t control, be flexible.