Leaders Should Add Feathers, Not Clip Wings

A phrase I came across recently stuck with me:

“Leaders who value you don’t clip your wings. They add more feathers so you can fly higher and further.”

It’s simple. But it captures something we often get wrong in business, especially in SMEs.

Too many at the top see their job as control. They manage targets, enforce rules, and track numbers. That’s fine for administration, but it’s not leadership.

Managing keeps people in check.

Leading helps people fly.

Are you a clipper or adder of feathers?

A clipper tends to do the following:

• They hold decision-making too tightly.
• Strategies are handed down with no space for teams to shape them.
• Performance reviews are focused only on what’s missing.
• Too much of a focus on numbers.

Whilst adding feathers looks different:

• These leaders share responsibility, not just accountability.
• Strategies are owned by teams as much as leaders.
• Development is framed around trust, skills, and confidence.
• Numbers guide performance, they don’t dictate it.

The irony? The more feathers you add, the higher the organisation flies. People stretch themselves, not because they’re told to, but because they own the flight path.

Strategy With Ownership

This is where the value of Strategy with Ownership really shows. When leaders invite their teams to help shape strategy, not just deliver it, the wings strengthen. People stop acting as passengers and start acting as pilots.

Ownership doesn’t mean everyone has to agree on everything. It means clarity, belief, and alignment: what you promise internally is consistent with what you deliver externally. When people own the strategy, they act on it. When they act on it, they add value that lasts.

A Challenge for Leaders

If you’re a leader, pause and ask yourself:

• Are you clipping wings by over-managing?
• Or are you adding feathers by creating space for ownership, trust and growth?

Leadership isn’t measured by how tightly you hold the reins.

It’s measured by how far your people can fly.