This year, I made one small shift in how I think about leadership in my business – and I believe it’s going to make a big difference.
A few months ago, I stopped thinking of it as my company.
And started seeing it as our company.
It’s a subtle change. But I’ve already noticed it’s starting to reshape how I lead, how my team responds, and how we grow.
The Leadership Error of Carrying Too Much
When I started this business, everything was on my shoulders. That’s how it is for most entrepreneurs — you raise all the capital, find every customer, wear every hat from CEO to janitor, and patch things together with duct tape and caffeine.
Even after the company grew and I had a solid team in place, I still caught myself thinking like a solo operator. I’d jump into client fires. I’d fix problems myself instead of letting someone else own the solution. If something big came up, I’d clear my calendar and take it on personally.
And to be honest, that approach still creeps back in more than I’d like.
But last year, I started asking myself:
What if the best way forward is to share more, not carry more?
And after working toward that, I had a personal epiphany. It’s not just “my” business anymore; it’s “our” business. And that was the start of a mindshift that’s bringing change, even though it might seem small or gradual to an outsider.
How a small course correction can make a big change: Let’s say you’re flying with your family from Philadelphia to San Francisco. Early in your journey, you realize that your family really wants to go to LA to pose beneath the Hollywood sign. If you adjust your trajectory by less than 3% over Cleveland, you’ll get to LA without spending any extra time. But if you don’t make that course correction, once you land in San Francisco, it will take you as long to drive to Los Angeles as it did to fly across the country.
Company Owner’s Leadership Shift: From “Me” to “We”
What’s changing is how I see the people around me – not just as people hired to do tasks, but as individuals who invest their time in the company and want to help build something. That matters because I can see it increases their satisfaction in being here.
So I’ve started to:
- Share more of the bigger picture — where the company is headed and why.
- Invite other opinions and feedback into decisions I might have made solo in the past.
- Focus more on developing the team — improving their job skills, sure, but also understanding our culture: why we do what we do, how we treat customers, operating from our values – company values we chose and created together.
I’ve started asking questions about how they see their role and where they want to control more decisions or outcomes.
What’s Starting to Happen
We’re still early in this process, but here’s what I’ve begun to notice:
Engagement is shifting. When team members see how they connect to the bigger mission and they feel some agency, they offer more ideas. They spot opportunities. They flag problems before I do.
Responsibility is slowly redistributing. I’m not quite out of the day-to-day weeds, but I can see more of the view from the rooftop now – I’m not always busy in the basement. That change alone is giving me space to think bigger and plan better.
Also, it’s giving more growth opportunities to my team.
What This Isn’t
Let me be clear: I’m not stepping back and coasting. This isn’t about being hands-off. It’s about being more intentional and trusting people with real responsibility.
And it’s definitely not perfect. I still catch myself defaulting to “just doing it myself.” Old habits don’t vanish overnight. But I’m trying to notice them more and act differently when I do.
I don’t want to lead a company that just runs well. I want to build one that grows because people at every level care about the outcome.
Final Thoughts
This concept isn’t a grand reinvention of leadership. It’s simply about recognizing the point at which every company owner needs to shift their point of view to move ahead. I’ve started leaning into it this year, and it feels right – even when it involves development and growth that might take a long time.
I’ve seen enough already to know it’s worth continuing along this path. And that’s why I’m sharing it here.
If you’ve been carrying too much for too long, maybe it’s time to reassess where you are and make a small course correction. Even just a subtle shift in how you see your leadership role has the power to change everything else.
Pictured: Two of our technicians, Todd and Mason, collaborate on a solution for a client.
