The Ultimate Payoff: Achieving True Autonomy and Growth
For years, I found myself making decisions on a daily, sometimes weekly basis that felt extremely costly in the short term. These weren’t easy choices. Often, they involved stepping back and allowing my team to navigate complex challenges, knowing full well it might impact the business in the moment. Yet my unwavering goal remained the same: to build a company that could operate independently of me.
I believed that true, sustainable success wouldn’t come from me being the only problem-solver. It would come from cultivating a team capable of owning their challenges and developing their own solutions. This meant enduring difficult periods of apparent inefficiency or even missteps, recognising them as essential stages in the process of genuine growth and learning.
For months, and even years, the team often felt they didn’t “need” me. (In reality, they did - my support and the space I created were foundational.) But today, the landscape has genuinely changed. They really don’t need me in the same way anymore.
They’re solving their own problems. We have a steady influx of work, we’re buying equipment in advance, and our finance arrangements are minimal. The cash in the bank now acts as our guarantee - a reflection of the team’s collective competence and proactive management. Everyone is well-paid, which is a testament to the value they consistently deliver.
There have, of course, been difficult periods. Perhaps, even now, some are slightly underpaid for the immense value they bring. But I believe in allowing the team to fully internalise the lessons from past mistakes and hard-earned successes. This is the final stage of true ownership—understanding the full extent of one’s impact, both positive and negative.
To witness this level of autonomy, accountability, and resulting financial security is the ultimate reward. It confirms that those so-called “costly” short-term decisions were, in fact, the most valuable long-term investments in our people, and in the future of ASL Limited.
This journey has made both myself and the company stronger, more resilient, and far better positioned for sustainable growth.
What does true autonomy look like in your organisation and what ‘costs’ were you willing to bear to achieve it?
Connect with me to learn more about our journey to autonomous growth at ASL Limited:
#Leadership #Autonomy #TeamEmpowerment #BusinessGrowth #StrategicVision #AuthenticLeadership #ASLLimited #ProblemSolving #LongTermSuccess
