Does Your Team Follow You—Or Just Obey You?
Welcome to another Toolkit Tuesday! Every week our goal is to give you a practical leadership tool to put in your toolkit. This week, we’re exploring a powerful truth: you can’t have ownership and control at the same time.
The Challenge
(Steve) So there I was…a junior leader in the Navy who loved training. I was good at it—and I took pride in making sure my team was prepared. But as I rose in rank, my job shifted. I was supposed to be developing others to run training—not doing it myself.
Still, I couldn’t help jumping in. I reviewed every plan. Gave tons of input. Sometimes I just rewrote the entire evolution. What happened? My team stopped owning the training plans.
They waited for me to fix or run things. And I created that reality—not them. As leaders, we often say we want our people to take more ownership. But here’s the hard truth: ownership and control are inversely proportional. If you’re holding too tightly, there’s no room for them to lead.
The Tool: Ownership-Control Slider
The more control you keep, the less ownership your team can take. But when you slide control toward them—giving clarity, authority, and space—you create room for growth, innovation, and real leadership development.
The slider works like this:
On one end: Full Control (you decide, you direct, you execute)
On the other: Full Ownership (they plan, they lead, they learn)
Great leaders slide the control over time—matching it to the team’s readiness, while still offering support.
This isn't about “letting go and hoping for the best.” It’s about intentional delegation that builds ownership.
Why This Matters Now
If you’re frustrated that your team won’t take initiative—or constantly brings every decision back to you—it might not be a team problem. It might be a control problem. Over time, tight control creates bottlenecks, frustration, and burnout—on both sides. You become the ceiling on team performance. And they stop stretching, innovating, or leading.
But the inverse is true, too. When you release control with clear expectations and support, your team rises to the challenge.
The Result
Even so, it’s not easy to let go. You care deeply. You’re used to being the expert.
But when you slide the control toward ownership, something powerful happens: Your team becomes more engaged. They solve problems without you. They grow as leaders.
And you? You finally get the space to focus on the big picture.
Take Action
Here’s how to grow your leadership this week:
Choose one area where you’re holding tight to control—then slide the dial just one click toward ownership. Give clear expectations, set boundaries, and let your team lead.
If you're stuck in the weeds and want to empower your leaders to step up, let's build a plan together. Click the button to schedule a strategy session with us now.
Closing the Loop
I eventually learned to give my team more space—and they grew into incredible leaders. But it didn’t happen until I loosened my grip. If you want more ownership, you have to give up some control. There’s no other way.
