Step Back to Let Your Team Step Up and Scale
By Nina Kaufman, Esq.
Archimedes shouted “Eureka!” in a bathtub. Einstein had sudden insights into the theory of relativity while riding a streetcar. Newton “discovered” gravity during a countryside retreat (Cambridge University was closed because of the Black Death plague).
I had my own eureka! moment years ago when I first started my business. I hated my job at a small NYC law firm. But I couldn’t decide whether to stay, look for another job (ugh—it would be my 2nd in 6 months), or join my then-business partner in a new venture. Terrified to move forward into the new, but feeling stifled by the old. What to do? I felt paralyzed. Couldn’t make a decision.
Despite the stress of the job, I wangled a long holiday weekend away to attend a friend’s wedding in Rockport, MA. I sat on the coastline boulders for nearly an hour. Watching the waves crash against the rocks. Smelling the salty spray leaping into the air. Hearing the cry of gulls circling for food. For a moment, an odd calm embraced me. And then I heard the words, “The promise of a regular salary has become a noose around your neck.” I had my answer.
What’s the common theme? “White space.” Giving yourself a break … from the problem, the issue, the patterns. You’ve probably heard “you do your best thinking in the shower.” Well, there’s solid brain science behind it. Partly because you give your brain a break. You let it stop and relax … instead of forcing it to constantly churn like an overactive computer.
And when you take a break from your business—and stop micromanaging—you allow your team to step up and into new roles.
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