Let Them Take The Shot

The fastest way to keep things “under control” is to take the shot yourself. It’s also one of the fastest ways to cap the people around you. I’m talking about that tense leadership moment when you can see the opportunity, you suspect they’re ready enough, and you still feel your hands reaching for the wheel because the client might get upset, the project might wobble, or the result might not be as good as if you did it.

We unpack why so many managers, founders, and team leads struggle with delegation and why the fear is often rational. Yes, the risks are real: missed expectations, awkward outcomes, and the painful thought that you could have produced a cleaner win. But there’s a bigger, quieter risk that compounds over time: every time you step in to protect the outcome, you shrink someone’s ceiling and train them to wait for you instead of reaching.

This message reframes empowerment and leadership development as “belief in action.” It’s not reckless to let someone take the shot; it’s a concrete way to say, “I trust you with something that matters.” We also lean on the coaching mindset John Wooden captured so well: you can give correction without creating resentment, but you can’t coach a shot that never gets taken. Let them try, let them struggle, let them miss, then help them learn and come back stronger.

If you want a more capable team, better ownership, and healthier leadership habits, hit play, then subscribe, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a review with your answer: who do you need to step back for right now?

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Transcript

Welcome To The Hotline

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You are listening to the Growth Insigator Hotline, and I'm Aaron Havens. This is message 564. Today let's talk about something that's hard to do. It's the moment you let someone else take the shot. Not because you're certain they'll make it, not because it's risk-free, but because they'll never grow into what they're capable of becoming if you keep being the one who steps in. You see the opportunity, you know they're ready, or at least ready enough, and you have a choice. Take the shot yourself. Quick, clean, safe. Or step back, let them try and live with whatever happens next. That's the tension. And most leaders can't handle it. Because what if they fail? What if it doesn't go well? What if the client gets upset and the job goes sideways? The outcome isn't what it could have been if you had just handled it yourself. Those are real risks. And here's the bigger one. What if they never get the chance to find out what they're capable of because you never gave them the shot? Every time you step in, you're protecting the outcome, but you're also limiting their ceiling. You're saying, I don't trust this moment enough to let you own it. Yeah. And over time they stop reaching, they stop trying, they wait for you to show up. Not because you're incapable, but because you've trained them to believe you're the only one who can do it. They are capable. Letting someone take the shot isn't reckless. It's belief in action. It's belief in someone. It's saying, I see potential in you that might not you might not see in yourself, and I'm willing to risk the miss so you can experience making it. John Wooden said it perfectly. A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. But you can't coach someone through a shot they never took. So let them try, let them struggle, let them miss if that's what happens. Because the miss teaches more than your intentions ever could. And the make, yeah, when they make that, that builds confidence. No pep talk can replicate. The greatest gift you can give someone isn't solving their problem, it's believing they can solve it and proving it by stepping back. So here's one question to sit with today. Who needs you to step back and give them a shot? And what's really stopping you from letting them take it? Haha. Until next time, may each of us live good lives and lead good companies.