Welcome to the sixth installment of my “High-Speed Leadership” series, where I explore the parallels between high-performance driving and business leadership.
You might wonder why “letting go of the wheel” would be a relevant topic. In high-speed racing, you're taught to keep your hands at 9 and 3 on the wheel, rarely moving them from that position except to shift gears. But when it comes to other forms of performance driving, like drifting, a different approach is required.
I’ve been drifting and stunt driving for eight years. Now I even co-own Texas Drift Academy. In drifting, the car slides sideways, and you countersteer, then slide the other way. As the car’s rear swings like a pendulum pulled by a rubber band, your front tires need to adjust quickly. Instead of manually steering, letting go of the wheel allows it to spin rapidly, countersteering faster than you could with your hands—maintaining control by letting the car do the work.
Now, let’s shift gears to business.
First, a qualification. As a leader, you DO want to keep your hands “on the wheel” of your organization, managing your team, products, and market with precision. Business, like driving, is subject to the law of entropy—things naturally drift toward disorder. If you don’t actively guide your team, they might lose focus. If you don’t manage by metrics, progress stalls. If processes aren’t maintained, effectiveness decays.
How and where are the hands on the wheel? A tight grip in racing leads to fatigue, overcorrection, and loss of precision. The same goes for leadership—micromanagement stifles creativity, demotivates employees, and can steer the organization in the wrong direction.
There will be moments when you must grab the wheel with both hands to steer back on course. But the real aim is to create an organization where you can “let go of the wheel” more often, enabling speed and scale.
Now we pick up speed.
Too often, heavy-handed leaders slow down company growth. Employees, reacting to executive oversteering, become hesitant, fearful, and risk-averse.
I know of a late-stage startup where a new CMO instilled a culture of constant questioning and required exhaustive justifications for every decision. Within a year, the CEO reported that they were spending twice as much for half the results.
The goal of letting go is simple: unleash the entrepreneur in every employee while ensuring everyone is aligned.
How Do I Let Go of the Wheel?
Two questions arise:
What’s necessary for success when I let go?
How do I resist the urge to oversteer?
I recently spoke with a CEO who had to step away from his company for six months due to a family emergency. Known for his hands-on, meticulous management style, he was surprised to find that his leaders stepped up in his absence, implementing new programs and driving growth. This unplanned experiment showed him the power of letting go.
So, what’s necessary to let go of the wheel?
First thing: good people. (See my article on the 5 Stars of a Rockstar Employee.)
And perhaps some second things: Values. A clear vision. Specific and measurable goals. Planning. Accountability through KPIs, budgets, and regular reviews. And a process to continue to get and keep good people.
The paradox is good people will likely put or maintain some of the second things in place. As a leader, it’s your job to set the culture, hire the right people, and then trust them. If you have the right team and a clear framework, letting go of the wheel will often lead to better outcomes than trying to control everything yourself.
But what if you can’t let go? What if you’re a Type A, OCD, detail-oriented perfectionist? Ah. That’s a personal issue, not a personnel issue. It’s a YOU mindset and behavior that needs addressing.
High-achieving leaders often reach their positions through control and meticulous attention to detail. But you move into leadership, you must adapt to achieve results through your team.
Mea culpa. My learning curve was steep when I ran marketing for a startup in 1998. I managed a designer who presented a UX design for our product. With some design experience under my belt—I owned a Mac!—I took his design, crudely cut it up in PowerPoint, and handed it back with instructions on how it should be done. Two weeks later, he quit.
By the time I joined Dell, I had learned my lesson. I managed a team of 13 product managers and web producers. One of the best hires was a web producer who didn’t have extensive digital experience, but she was curious, analytical, and took initiative. I set clear goals and provided the necessary tools, including access to web analytics. She used this data to experiment and measure, ultimately tripling our conversion rates.
It takes self-awareness and discipline for a Type A leader not to grab the wheel at every opportunity. Here are four strategies to help you let go:
Manage by Measures: Set specific, measurable goals and incorporate them into reviews. Make your expectations clear and revisit them regularly.
Encourage Managing Up: Empower your employees to manage up. They should feel comfortable telling you when you’re too involved, leading to more productive discussions about unmet expectations.
Reflect on Time Investments: Are you spending too much time doing the work instead of setting the vision and inspiring your team? Focus on breaking down obstacles for your employees rather than carrying their burdens.
Own your change. If you’re high-strung, OCD, and particular, recognize it. Seek feedback, be mindful, and celebrate when you successfully let go of the wheel. Reflect on where and why you still struggle to do so, and share those insights.
In high-speed drifting or stunt driving, sometimes letting go of the wheel is the fastest way to maintain control. The same principle applies in leadership. To truly excel, leaders can learn to loosen their grip, trust their team, and let the organization steer itself toward success. It’s not relinquishing responsibility but empowering those around you to take charge and innovate. The real art of leadership is knowing when to guide with a light touch, allowing your organization to reach its full potential.
Let go of the wheel—sometimes, it’s the fastest way forward.
Kommentare