Out of Office, But Full of Trust

Believe it or not, I’m writing this from a beach chair. 12 years ago, that sentence would have been a lie.

Sure, I might have physically been on vacation, but mentally? I was at the office. Checking emails. Answering texts. Solving problems nobody had even asked me to solve yet. Constantly wondering what was happening while I wasn't there.

I thought that was what leaders did. I thought being responsible meant being involved in everything. And in the early years, that was partially true.

Our team was small. We didn't always have enough hands, and if I'm being honest, we didn't always have the right hands. Every decision, every project, every client issue seemed to run through me. It was exhausting, but I didn't know another way.

The truth is that I wasn't just building a company. I was learning how to trust. And I was terrible at it.

Somewhere along the way, though, something shifted. As the company grew, so did our team. We hired great people. We developed leaders. We put the right people in the right seats. And little by little, I started letting go.

Not all at once. Just enough to realize something important:

The company didn't break.

It didn't crash.

It didn't implode.

In fact, we got better.

The more I learned to trust my team, the more responsibility they were able to take on. The more responsibility they took on, the stronger the company became. Funny how that works.

I think a lot of leaders misunderstand delegation.

Delegation doesn't mean you're no longer responsible for the vision. It doesn't mean you're lowering your standards. It doesn't mean you're stepping away from quality, outcomes, or accountability. It means you've built a team that's capable of helping carry the mission.

Today, my role looks very different than it did twelve years ago.

Ninety percent of my day is spent delegating, reviewing, coaching, problem-solving, and looking at the business from a macro level. I check in. I get updates. I review. I support.

But I don't need to have my hands on every single thing. And that's a good thing. Because leadership isn't about being needed for everything. It's about building something that can succeed beyond you. That's one of the reasons I can sit here today and enjoy time with my family before conference season ramps up.

Do I still check in? Absolutely.

Am I still available? Of course.

If there's a problem that only I can solve, my team knows how to reach me. But they also know how to solve most problems without me. And honestly, that's one of the accomplishments I'm most proud of. We've built a culture where people row together. They cover for each other. They step up when someone needs help.

And yes, sometimes they even cover for me. What a gift that is.

My family notices the difference, too. They get a version of me now that is more present. Less stressed. More rested. More available. Not because I care less about my business, but because I trust the people helping lead it.

If you're a leader reading this and you're struggling to unplug, I have a question:

Do you trust your team? If the answer is no, you have work to do.

Maybe you need clearer expectations.

Maybe you need better systems.

Maybe you need different people.

But if there are people sitting on your team that you genuinely don't trust, eventually you have to address it. Because here's another lesson I've learned:

If the company can't function without you for an extended period of time, you've become the bottleneck. I know that's not fun to hear.

I've been that person.

The goal isn't to make yourself indispensable. The goal is to build a team that's empowered enough to thrive.

So take the vacation.

Take the long weekend.

Go to the beach.

Turn your phone over for a little while.

Trust the people you've hired. And if you can't trust them, figure out why. Because the ability to step away isn't just a gift to you.

It's a sign that you've built something bigger than yourself.

And that might be one of the most rewarding parts of leadership.

XOXO busy bees,

Melissa