Why CEO's need to let go of their ego

The Ego Has Landed: Why CEOs Must Let Go

In the business world, and in tech especially, there’s a strong tendency to glorify the CEO — particularly when they’ve built a business from the ground up through blood and sweat, or become the face, whether angel or villain, at the forefront of disruption. Although I can recognise this can have benefits, I’ve always found this type of mythologising of the lone ego uncomfortable as a business principle.

The truth is, my goal as a CEO isn’t to be the smartest person in the room. Neither is it to gallop ahead of the troops to seize the limelight, or to somehow embody the organisation in any singular fashion. It’s to create the conditions for the smartest team to do their best work. It’s really that simple.

In my experience, command and control leadership built on ego and the concentration of power tends to produce poor outcomes: bottlenecks, frustration, and stagnation. It breeds cultures where people second-guess themselves or defer to the chain of command, rather than acting with purpose, creativity, initiative and speed.

The reality is, you don’t build happy, productive and resilient businesses by micromanaging, or fostering a culture where talismanic figures are worshipped (or feared). You build them by letting go. Indeed, the CEO’s work might look more meaningful if it was viewed as the broad foundations at the base of the pyramid rather than the lone point at its peak.

Empower people through distributed leadership

At Apply Digital, we’ve grown from a team of a dozen to over 700 people across multiple markets. We’ve partnered with some of the world’s biggest brands on wildly complex transformation projects. None of that would have happened if decision-making came solely from the top. Our model depends on trust — in people, in process, and in the empowering nature of distributed leadership.

That trust begins with a good, clean structure. You can’t empower a team without first being clear about who’s responsible for what, and how their work ladders up to the broader, albeit shared, mission. Everyone needs to understand their remit, and how it fits into the wider strategy. This clarity creates confidence. It frees people up to move quickly within their lane and take ownership without constantly checking back.

It also depends on mindset. As leaders, we talk a lot about growth — but it’s not just a number on the P&L. For me, growth is something broader and more dynamic. It’s about creating an environment where people are encouraged to learn, take risks, and push themselves. It’s still measurable, but it starts with adopting a growth mindset as a shared ethos — one that drives innovation, fuels career development, and brings energy into the business.

That takes courage from the top, because a culture of experimentation inevitably brings setbacks. But if you’ve built psychological safety and given people the space to operate and learn, those obstacles become stepping stones — not just to profit, but to a healthier, more fulfilled organisation.

Of course, letting go doesn’t mean switching off or failing to inject personal qualities into the DNA of a business. Leadership is still about vision and orchestration. But more often than not it means shifting from command-and-control to trust-and-verify. It means accepting that if you’ve hired the right people — with the right blend of expertise, curiosity and integrity — your job is not to second-guess them. It’s to get out of their way, to learn from them. It’s to take their council and trust their instincts.

When ego drives leadership, it can do real damage. It often silences dissent, as people become wary of challenging the dominant voice in the room. That’s a fear-based system which stifles innovation and limits creative thinking. Diverse perspectives are essential in a fast-moving world, and leadership styles that shut them down do the business no favors.

Skills for the future

Then there’s the issue of talent. The best people — the ones who want to grow the business as much as themselves, and make an impact that benefits everyone — won’t stay in an environment where they feel micromanaged or overlooked. They’ll leave. And when they go, they take skills, energy and hard-won experience with them. In the long run, it’s not only the culture that suffers, but the bottom line and the sustainability of your operations.

Ego-led businesses are also more fragile. If too much depends on one individual — if strategy, direction and decision-making are concentrated in a single voice — what happens when that person is wrong? Or unavailable? Or simply leaves? A resilient business needs a leadership structure that can absorb change and adapt under pressure. Distributed leadership makes the company stronger, not weaker.

Ethical blind spots

Letting go also means you don’t miss what’s right in front of you. One of the great risks of the solo CEO mindset is that you stop listening. You stop being curious. You become convinced that your vision is the only one that counts. And in doing so, you risk missing out on emerging trends, market signals, or on-the-ground insights your teams are well placed to see.

Worse, unchecked ego can create ethical blind spots. If a leader is chasing personal glory or market recognition at all costs, the long-term health of the business and its stakeholders may be sidelined. Letting go of the ego is part of building an organisation that acts responsibly — with people, customers and partners in mind. I think we all know which high-profile example springs to mind here.

On the flip side, there’s so much to gain. When leadership is distributed, decision-making speeds up. People on the ground are empowered to act. They don’t have to wait for permission. That agility is vital in today’s climate, where businesses must respond to change in real time.

One recent example is how we responded to the rise of AI. Over the last year, we’ve embedded artificial intelligence deeply into our workflows, at both an operational and individual level. That shift meant we were well placed to help clients navigate the same change. Yet it emerged from the bottom up through a shared sense of curiosity and the desire to adapt together. It was not a top down decision — I simply listened, and ensured everyone felt empowered to act on their ideas. That's the value of distributed leadership; you're able to move faster, with more clarity, and with complete organisation buy-in when change arrives.

This kind of culture also raises engagement. When people feel trusted, they show up with greater energy and commitment. They take ownership. They care. That sense of responsibility is contagious — and it’s a critical driver of performance.

It also cultivates future leaders. Giving people room to run, and space to fail, is how you nurture the next generation of executives. Consider it part of your succession strategy, no matter how long-term you might be planning.

We still need leaders

Nothing I’ve said should be taken to mean that the role of the CEO is somehow redundant. Far from it. Setting the vision still matters. So does defining the strategy and holding the business accountable. But once that direction is clear, it’s up to the team to find the best route forward — and for the CEO to support them as they do.

Letting go doesn’t mean stepping back. It means leaning into a different kind of leadership. One that listens more than it talks. That encourages rather than controls. That sees success not in how many decisions the CEO makes, but in how many the team can make without them.

That shift isn’t always easy. It perhaps means unlearning old habits and reframing the role. It might actually require a hard look in the mirror to understand why you do what you do, and for whose ultimate benefit. But the reward is worth it: a business that moves faster, thinks sharper, and grows stronger through its people.

So here’s the real test: don’t ask whether your team can perform without you. Ask whether they might perform better.

Who is Gautam Lohia?

Gautam Lohia is co-founder and CEO of Apply Digital

Gautam Lohia brings over 25 years of experience leading digital technology companies to his role as CEO at global digital transformation business Apply Digital.

As a multi-startup founder who sold his first company before starting Apply Digital, Lohia knows that great companies are driven by a culture of innovation, continuous learning, and high engagement. He enjoys defining strategy and helping people grow and succeed in a fast-moving environment.

Over his career, Lohia has worked with brands including Kraft Heinz, NFL, and Disney to define their digital objectives and then build, launch and manage the solutions to achieve their business objectives.