Absolute control = absolute liability

A common mistake that I see leaders of startups, small businesses or family enterprises make, is the key person error.

A key person error means that nothing can be accomplished, decided, or committed to unless the key person agrees to it.

It makes the CEO feel powerful to have to be consulted on every single choice.

Except:

1) The CEO is rarely an expert in all areas of the business, and so half the choices they make are the wrong ones. Rather than tapping the expertise and potential of all the specialized employees in the org, the company is stuck relying on a single person's knowledge and skill set.

2) Employees feel like they're on a short, micromanaged leash, and like the leader doesn't trust them. This leads to retention and attrition issues.

3) It vastly slows everything down, which means that decisions take 2-5x as long.

4) It creates impossible demands on the leader's time, so while they feel special, they also burn out.

5) If something happens to the leader - they get sick, have to travel, or die - the whole business either grinds to a halt, or fails.

So, insisting on absolute control is actually absolute liability. Every time someone makes themself the only key person who is allowed to make choices, they are giving the company a massive failure point - not to mention making it weak, slow, and unsustainable.

Instead, it's better to teach employees or fellow leaders how to make choices using the CEO's values or lens, whether the leader is present or not. This means that they can take the leader's priorities and preferences into account, while also keeping things moving, and building in knowledge of their own expertise.

If you haven't communicated this to your team before, write down the top four values that you use to make decisions (e.g. honesty, efficiency, customers first, and all ideas matter).

Then, write out the top three priorities for this month. Send your team an email that says, "This month, our north stars are to accomplish 1, 2, and 3. If you're not sure what to do in your work supporting those goals, do whatever would most honest the values of a, b, c, and d."