Good leadership is not about control. It is about trust.
When every answer comes from the owner, the team stops thinking. It is not that they cannot make decisions. It is that they have learned not to. Over time, that training turns the owner into the only source of truth, and the business cannot move without them.
Real leadership flips that. It means teaching people how to think, giving them the tools to make good calls, and backing them up when they make those calls, right or wrong. When teams are taught how to think, the work keeps moving and decisions get better over time. When they make a bad decision, that is when training takes place, not retribution.
This is when it takes patience as an owner to step back from the mistake and use it as a teachable moment. That is how you build people you can count on.
Leadership is not about giving every answer. It is about teaching people how to think and backing them up when they decide. When you guide the way they make choices, good or bad, they grow faster and take more ownership. That is how you build people you can count on.
Stand behind their decisions, good or bad. When people know you have their back, they stop hiding mistakes and start owning them.
When something goes wrong, step back before reacting. Use it as a teachable moment. Show how you would think through it next time and give them the chance to do the same.
