A CEO in Omaha once admitted something most leaders never say aloud: “Isaiah, I don’t trust anyone to carry the vision but me.” His team wasn’t incompetent. They were capable, loyal, and hardworking. But he had been burned before. People had let him down. Promises had been broken. So he held everything with a clenched fist, believing that control equaled protection.
But control was costing him the very growth he prayed for.
I asked him to tell me about the moment he stopped trusting people. His voice cracked slightly. It wasn’t a business failure it was a personal betrayal years earlier. He didn’t even realize how deeply that wound shaped the way he led. He wasn’t controlling because he was arrogant. He was controlling because he was afraid.
We spent months rebuilding that trust from the foundation up. Not by forcing it, but by healing it. We talked about the people on his team their strengths, their hearts, their intentions. We talked about the difference between wisdom and fear. And slowly, he began releasing small responsibilities. Then bigger ones. Then critical ones.
The shift was extraordinary. His team felt empowered for the first time. They stepped up with a level of ownership he hadn’t seen before. His business expanded faster than he believed possible becausefor the first timeit was not limited by his capacity alone.
He told me one morning, “Isaiah, I didn’t realize how much God wanted to do through my team until I stopped getting in His way.” Trust didn’t weaken him. It multiplied him.
If you feel the weight of carrying everything alone, I’d be honored to help you build a teambased trust that frees you to lead the way Nebraska leaders were designed to lead.
Button: Help Me Trust My Team
No responses yet