Five years ago, I was facilitating a strategy review for a client in the health sector. Midway, the CEO leaned back and sighed, “Mr Strategy, I don’t know why my managers are slow. Nothing moves without me.”
I asked him, “How many decisions land on your desk daily?”
“Everything. Budgets. Staff leave. Supplier payments. Even office tea orders!”
I smiled. Not to mock him but because I had seen the actual disease.
It reminded me of Grandpa’s granary back in the village. No one touched the food reserves without Grandpa’s say-so. During one dry season, rats chewed through half the store. The younger boys saw it but wouldn’t act.
They were waiting for Grandpa.
By the time he responded, it was too late.
Central control is killing your business
At this health client, I dug deeper, like a doctor diagnosing before prescribing. The managers weren’t lazy. They were afraid. Every decision needed the CEO’s blessing.
They had learned helplessness. No room for mistakes.
The CEO had unknowingly built a prison. His people had the keys, but they kept looking at him to unlock the door.
This is common. I see it in banks where every loan approval must be escalated. In manufacturing where procurement grinds to a halt, waiting for MD signatures. In education institutions where department heads can’t hire a cleaner without VC approval.
Speed dies.
Innovation dies.
People stop thinking they just wait.
The leadership trap
Maybe you’re feeling exhausted too.
Every day, your in-tray is overflowing. You secretly wish your team could “think for themselves.”
Here’s the truth: you trained them not to.
Control feels safe.
But it suffocates.
Practical leadership fix
This is what I told that CEO and what I tell you:
a) Set clear decision thresholds. Who can approve up to what amount? What decisions never need to reach you?
We gave his line managers the power to approve up to UGX 50 million purchases. Simple.
b) Spell out accountability. Define success, but let teams choose how they get there.
At that health client, once department heads owned their KPIs, they stopped asking permission for every small move.
c) Coach after, not during. Let them act. If mistakes happen, guide not punish.
The CEO started weekly debriefs less command, and more conversation.
Leadership tool: The 70% rule
If your team can do the task 70% as well as you, delegate it.
Their 70% + speed beats your perfect 100% delay
“Tomorrow, we’re running a Permission-Free Day. For 24 hours, no one is allowed to escalate routine decisions to the CEO. You decide. You approve. You act. Only crisis-level, business-threatening issues come to the CEO.”
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Final word
To the CEOs burnt out, feeling like the lone driver while everyone’s a passenger - I get it.
But you’re not building a bus.
You’re building a fleet.
Give them the wheel.
A case in point. At one of the financial institutions, we classified decisions into operational, tactical, and strategic. And I recommended the “Permission-Free Day” Challenge
Setup
In one leadership meeting, I told the managers:
You should have seen their faces. Some panicked. Others smiled nervously. That was normal.
But the rules were clear
No running upstairs.
No ‘seeking approval.’
They had to make all decisions within their department or team.
During the day
We set up an open chat line where they could share quick wins or lessons learned.
Many were surprised how much they could handle without me. Faster.
Afterwards
We held a debrief. I asked:
What decisions felt easy?
Where did they hesitate? Why?
What policies or fears held them back?
Two things became clear:
- Most approvals were unnecessary.
- Many managers had been conditioned to seek permission out of habit, not competence.
Outcome
It was energizing. It sparked ownership.
By the end, we had a list of bottlenecks to permanently remove.
I ran this exercise quarterly.
Each time, we increased decision thresholds.
In the process, we grew leaders, not followers.
They took the wheel.
Until next Tuesday,
