Why Great CEOs Know When to Let Go

As the ultimate compass for the company, the CEO operates under the demanding pressure of ultimate accountability, where every move requires clarity, confidence, speed, and absolute certainty. However, the quick fix is often to default to maintaining control. In reality, this approach often becomes a barrier. Balancing that internal control with an external perspective is therefore a strategic necessity.

When Control Becomes the Ceiling

CEOs are naturally wired for control. You’ve built the business, you know how it works, and you’ve survived every major fire so far by relying on your instincts and experience. But over time, control becomes a ceiling, not a springboard. As complexity increases, new challenges emerge that aren’t solved by what you already know. Markets shift, your team evolves, and what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow.

That’s when control needs its counterbalance, which is external perspective. Perspective provides breadth, objectivity, and challenge. It lifts your view beyond the day-to-day and invites you to think differently, strategically, and often, more boldly.

The Power of External Advice Seeking

A powerful study titled The Determinants and Performance Consequences of CEO Strategic Advice Seeking offers real-world insight into this balance. The research, conducted across 287 nonprofit organisations, found a positive correlation between CEOs who sought external strategic advice and organisational performance.

CEOs who sought guidance from individuals outside their organisations, especially from those with experience in navigating complexity, were significantly more likely to lead high-performing organisations. Why? Because these leaders weren't stuck in their own feedback loop. They created mechanisms for challenge and reflection, allowing them to make more informed, less biased decisions.

“External advice seeking by the CEO enhances their ability to make higher quality strategic decisions by improving the information base and expanding the pool of ideas and perspectives,” the study concludes. It’s not just what you know - it’s who you ask, and when.

Two CEOs Who Chose Perspective Over Isolation

This idea plays out every day in businesses of all sizes. Two Australian companies demonstrate what it means to bring external perspective into the leadership process. At Street Furniture Australia, co-founder Bill Morrison describes his company’s Advisory Board as ‘holding a mirror’ to the business. That reflection revealed blind spots within the leadership team and operations. By stepping back slightly as a director and empowering his team, he saw stronger accountability, increased capability, and sharper strategic alignment.

Today, Street Furniture Australia is the recognised industry leader in innovation, has now established a robust international footprint and is the first in its sector to achieve full carbon-neutral certification.

Meanwhile, at Makinex, founder Rory Kennard built his Advisory Board during a time of significant change. Faced with international expansion and the pressures of scaling, he realised he needed more than instinct, he needed external challenge. The board became a sounding board and a strategic compass. Eventually, as the business matured, Makinex transitioned from an Advisory to a Governance Board, evidence that external perspective can evolve alongside growth. In both cases, the CEOs retained control. But they chose to surround themselves with strategic allies, people who weren’t caught in the day-to-day, but who deeply understood the stakes and opportunities.

Building the Right Structure

For many CEOs, ‘external advice’ conjures images of costly consultants or rigid governance boards. But perspective need not come wrapped in formality. It can be introduced gradually and flexibly.

First, ensure you propagate a culture where respectful dissent is welcomed.
Join a Peer to Peer CEO group to realise that you are not alone and to test your thinking.
Then appoint your own Advisory Board with hand-picked advisers experienced in your industry or scale of business and who are vested in your success.

The form matters less than function. Does your current structure give you access to the wisdom, challenge, and perspective you need to lead with confidence?

Leading with Perspective, Not Just Power

Balancing control with perspective doesn’t mean giving up the driver’s seat. It means widening your field of vision, using systems that help you find the right path. In a business environment that rewards speed, adaptability and depth of thinking, the CEO who seeks external insight is better positioned to lead with impact.

So, ask yourself: Who helps you think better? Who’s challenging your assumptions? Who’s in your corner, not to take control, but to help you grow?