By Ramkumar Seshu, , Author of Born to Win and Antar Prerana – Leadership Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita
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“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦” – this isn’t just a motivational quote, it’s the harsh reality facing every scaling CEO. You built your company through hustle, direct problem-solving, and hands-on leadership. But now, that same approach is strangling your growth.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹-𝘁𝗼-𝗟𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝘂𝗺
In the early days, you were in complete control. Customer complaint? You handled it personally. Product issue? You dove into the code or called the factory directly. Sales problem? You jumped on calls with prospects. This direct involvement wasn’t just helpful—it was essential for survival.
But here’s the paradox: the very behaviors that made you successful are now limiting your potential.
At scale, your time becomes the company’s most expensive resource. When you’re solving individual problems, you’re not building systems. When you’re in every meeting, you’re not developing other leaders. When you control every decision, you create a bottleneck that slows everything down.
The transformation from “𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹” to “𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼” isn’t just a nice-to-have evolution—it’s survival. Leaders achieve results through others. They build capabilities instead of solving problems. They create systems that work without their constant oversight.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗽
Most CEOs struggle with this transition because of what I call the “control trap.” The tight control that ensured quality and speed in early stages becomes the very thing that prevents growth.
You’ve seen it happen:
• Deals stall because only you can approve them
• Product development slows because teams wait for your input
• Hiring takes forever because you interview every candidate
• Innovation stops because people fear making mistakes without your guidance
Microsoft’s Satya Nadella exemplifies this transformation perfectly. When he became CEO in 2014, he shifted Microsoft from a “know-it-all” culture to a “learn-it-all” culture. Instead of being the smartest person in every room, he became the person who made others smarter. The result? Microsoft’s market cap grew from $300 billion to over $2 trillion under his leadership.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 “𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗠𝗘 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗡” 𝗘𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
This transformation requires a fundamental mindset shift from “𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗠𝗘” to “𝗪𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.” It’s not about becoming less involved—it’s about becoming involved in the right things.
Instead of solving today’s problems, you need to:
• Build tomorrow’s problem-solvers by developing your team’s capabilities
• Create systems that work without you so the company operates smoothly in your absence
• Focus on vision and strategy while others handle execution
• Develop other leaders who can take decisions with confidence
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱
The question isn’t whether you’re capable of scaling—you obviously have the skills to build something significant. The question is whether you’re willing to evolve your leadership style to match your company’s growth stage.
This evolution feels uncomfortable because it requires letting go of what made you successful. But remember: your goal isn’t to remain the hero of every story. Your goal is to build an organization that creates heroes at every level.
The companies that scale successfully are those led by CEOs who recognize this paradox early and actively work to resolve it. They understand that true leadership isn’t about being indispensable—it’s about making everyone else more capable.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲
Start with one simple question: “What am I doing that someone else could do 60% as well?” Then commit to training that person to do it. You’ll be amazed how quickly that 60% becomes 80%—and often better than you were doing it.
Are you ready to shift from being your company’s chief problem-solver to its chief people-developer? The growth you’re seeking depends on your answer.
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𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘊𝘌𝘖𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭.
𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯? 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘞𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 : I LOOK FORWARD TO TALK TO YOU. CLICK THIS LINK
