How to Scale Yourself Down — Not Up — as a Leader

One of the most common mistakes that leaders make is to assume that they need to scale themselves up as their organization grows. They think that they need to take on more responsibilities, make more decisions, and have more influence over every aspect of the business. But this is a recipe for burnout, micromanagement, and inefficiency.

The truth is that leaders need to scale themselves down — not up — as their organization grows. They need to delegate more, empower others, and focus on the big picture. Scaling yourself down as a leader means letting go of the things that you are good at, but not essential for, and trusting your team to handle them. It means creating a culture of ownership, accountability, and collaboration, where everyone feels valued and motivated. It means being a coach, a mentor, and a facilitator, rather than a boss, a manager, or a dictator.

Scaling yourself down as a leader is not easy. It requires humility, courage, and self-awareness. It requires giving up some control and accepting some uncertainty. It requires being comfortable with making mistakes and learning from them. But it also brings many benefits, such as:

- Increased productivity and innovation: 

When you scale yourself down as a leader, you free up your time and energy to focus on the most important and strategic tasks. You also enable your team to work more autonomously and creatively, without being constrained by your preferences or opinions.

- Improved morale and retention: 

When you scale yourself down as a leader, you show your team that you trust them and respect them. You give them more autonomy, feedback, and recognition. You help them grow and develop their skills and potential. This boosts their confidence, satisfaction, and loyalty.

- Enhanced reputation and influence: 

When you scale yourself down as a leader, you demonstrate your maturity and wisdom. You show that you are not afraid to admit your limitations or ask for help. You show that you are willing to learn from others and share your insights. This earns you respect and admiration from your peers, partners, and customers.

So how can you scale yourself down as a leader? Here are some practical tips:

- Identify your core strengths and passions: 

What are the things that only you can do or that you enjoy doing the most? What are the things that add the most value to your organization or customers? These are the things that you should focus on and excel at.

- Delegate or outsource everything else: 

What are the things that you are good at, but not essential for? What are the things that you don't like doing or that drain your energy? These are the things that you should delegate or outsource to someone else who can do them better or faster.

- Hire smart and diverse people: 

The key to scaling yourself down as a leader is to have a strong and capable team that can complement your skills and perspectives. Hire people who are smarter than you, who have different backgrounds and experiences, who can challenge you and teach you something new.

- Empower your team: 

Once you have hired smart and diverse people, give them the authority and resources to do their jobs well. Set clear goals and expectations, but don't micromanage how they achieve them. Provide regular feedback and coaching, but don't interfere with their decisions or actions. Celebrate their successes and support them in their failures.

- Communicate effectively: 

Scaling yourself down as a leader doesn't mean disappearing or becoming irrelevant. It means communicating with your team in a way that is clear, concise, and consistent. Share your vision and strategy, but also listen to their ideas and feedback. Communicate the why behind your decisions, but also solicit their input and opinions. Communicate the results and impact of your work, but also acknowledge their contributions and efforts.

To illustrate how scaling yourself down as a leader can work in practice, let's look at an example of a real company that has adopted this approach: Netflix.

Netflix is one of the most successful companies in the entertainment industry, with over 200 million subscribers worldwide. It is also known for its unique culture of freedom and responsibility, where employees are given a lot of autonomy and trust to make decisions.

Netflix's CEO Reed Hastings has scaled himself down as a leader by delegating most of his operational tasks to his senior executives. He spends most of his time on long-term vision and strategy, hiring top talent, building relationships with external partners, and communicating with shareholders.

He also empowers his team by giving them clear context and goals, but not telling them how to achieve them. He encourages them to experiment, innovate, and take risks. He provides them with honest feedback and coaching, but not micromanagement or interference. He rewards them with generous compensation and recognition, but not control or bureaucracy.

He communicates effectively by sharing his vision and strategy with his team regularly through memos, presentations, videos, podcasts, etc. He also listens to their ideas and feedback, and invites them to challenge him and debate with him. He communicates the results and impact of their work, and celebrates their achievements and learnings.

By scaling himself down as a leader, Reed Hastings has created a culture of ownership, accountability, and collaboration at Netflix, where everyone feels valued and motivated. He has also increased the productivity and innovation of his organization, improved the morale and retention of his employees, and enhanced his reputation and influence in the industry.

Scaling yourself down as a leader is one of the best ways to scale up your organization's performance and potential. It may seem counterintuitive or uncomfortable at first, but it will pay off in the long run. Remember: less is more when it comes to leadership.