Always available, not always around

One thing I understood much later in my career is how awesome it is to be a guest in your own house. Once you’ve built a capable team, it’s essential to take a step back and let them operate independently. By doing this, you foster a sense of ownership and resilience within the team, allowing leaders to emerge and team members to take on greater responsibility.

After building a previous team, I aggressively delegated as much of my power to them as I could. This wasn’t just symbolic; I would physically remove myself for months at a time. From April until June, I was essentially gone, traveling to industry events, presenting roadmaps to leadership, visiting partners for collaborations, attending conferences, and more. My absence wasn’t a vacation but an intentional move to let the team struggle, survive, and make critical decisions on their own.

For the rest of the year, I would be more hands-on, but those yearly periods of absence were crucial. It gave the team a chance to step up, make tough calls, and show who was ready to take on more responsibility. Eventually, I could confidently say that the team I left behind was one that you would have to intentionally try and break to prevent them from shipping. By that point, I had become a guest in my own house.

This is the most anti-fragile team pattern I’ve been able to build, and I’ve done it twice now, currently working on a third. The key is to create intentional moments of absence to allow your team to grow into their roles, proving that they can perform without constant oversight. This not only strengthens the team but creates a culture where leadership naturally rises to the top, ensuring long-term success.