The Most Valuable Leadership Move No One Talks About

Let Them Be Themselves

One of the most impactful moments in my operations career didn’t come from a big launch, a metric crushed, or a budget saved. It came from something much simpler: I was finally allowed to be myself.

If you’ve spent time in Delivery, you know how easy it is to morph. To shape-shift. You start using the “right” language, playing the “right” politics, speaking up only when it's safe. You become who you should be, not who you are because that’s how you survive. But when you're stuck in should, you can’t really serve.

In one of my most recent roles, that changed. Leadership didn’t just tolerate my ideas or style, they wanted it. I was encouraged to speak plainly, challenge norms, and bring my full self to the table. I didn’t have to wear the mask. I didn’t have to pretend. I just had to show up and do the work I was hired to do, the way I do it best.

It changed everything.

I felt energized. Creative. Committed. And maybe most importantly, I felt like my strengths actually mattered. I wasn’t just executing tasks; I was helping drive real change, using the unique lens I’ve built from years in the weeds of ops and delivery.

Here’s Why This Matters

We say we want high performers. We want initiative. Innovation. Accountability. But then we hire smart people and immediately box them in with layered approvals, passive-aggressive “should's,” or outdated playbooks. We tell them how to do things, instead of trusting why we hired them in the first place.

Operators, especially senior ones, don’t need micromanagement. They need a match between what they’re good at and what the business actually needs. Then they need space to execute.

This is where so many founders or execs miss the mark. You don’t unlock operational excellence with stricter oversight. You unlock it by aligning on strengths, then stepping back and letting people work.

So What Does Great Leadership Look Like?

It’s not being the smartest in the room. It’s not being the loudest voice on every call. It’s this:

• Hire for alignment – Strengths, values, attitude. If you nail this up front, you don’t need to control the middle.

• Empower early – Let people take the reins before they “earn” it. That’s how they do earn it.

• Stay out of the way – Be available, but don’t hover. If you trust your team, act like it.

• Celebrate how they work – Some people over-communicate. Some quietly crush it. Different isn’t wrong. It’s required.

There Is No Substitute for Belonging

When someone is trusted to bring their whole self to the job and their skills are wanted, not just tolerated, they perform differently. You can’t fake that kind of drive. You can’t template it, either.

That’s what I felt. And I try to give that same feeling to the teams I work with now.

Because when someone says “Just be yourself,” and actually means it? That’s when the real work starts.

Richard