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Leadership Insights
One reason followership may appear harder to leaders is the idea that followership often requires letting go of control. But let’s not mistake a desire for control for micromanagement. For many of us, our desire to maintain control comes from caring about outcomes rather than from wanting to make sure a process is followed exactly. And good followers focus on using their sphere of influence to advance their organization’s priorities, which gives them a sense of purpose.
So why should you want to let go of direct control?
Here are some of the reasons why relinquishing control to let your coworkers or employees lead can benefit your team:
It Builds Team Capability: When you hold onto control, you become the bottleneck for your team or project’s growth. Letting go creates space for them to develop problem-solving skills and confidence they can’t build while you’re managing the outcomes.
It Increases Innovation: Your team members often see solutions you can’t because they’re closer to the details or have different perspectives. Control limits access to these insights.
It Creates Sustainable Success: If you’re the only one who can ensure quality outcomes, what happens when you’re not available? Developing others’ ownership creates more resilience and the greater likelihood of positive results.
It Reduces Your Cognitive Load: Carrying responsibility for everything is exhausting. Strategic delegation actually improves your ability to focus on the things that only you can do.
It Builds Trust Currency: When you demonstrate trust in your team’s capabilities, it strengthens their commitment and engagement. People perform better when they feel trusted.
Try This in Your Next Meeting
If you’re ready to practice letting go of the control you have as a leader, here’s a way to incorporate that mindset into your next meeting:
The “Facilitator Handoff” Practice
Instead of running the entire meeting yourself, identify one agenda item where a team member has expertise or ownership, and say to them: “I’d like you to facilitate the discussion on the budget review. You know the details better than I do, and I think the team would benefit from your perspective in leading this part.”
Then—and this is the crucial part—resist the urge to jump in with corrections or additions unless there’s a genuine error that affects outcomes. Let them own the conversation flow, the questions, and even the occasional awkward pause.
Your role can shift to taking notes, asking clarifying questions as a participant, and amplifying their points.
The test: If you find yourself wanting to “fix” their approach mid-discussion, pause and ask yourself: “Is this actually wrong, or just different from how I would do it?”
Start with a 10–15 minute segment rather than the whole meeting. You can always step back in if needed, but you’ll likely be surprised by what emerges when you’re not steering.
Take a minute to think about what meeting today has the best opportunity for this kind of handoff.
Depending on your Five Paths scores, this practice may seem more or less natural to you. Learn more about effective delegation based on your Five Paths style in Applying the Five Paths to Leadership® Model.
You can also explore some ways to delegate more effectively using Sophia, the AI leadership coach found in My Path. Just enter the prompt: I want to be a more effective delegator. How could I do this in a way that’s authentic to my leadership style?