Why I Rewrote Let It Go

Five years ago, I wrote my first book, Let It Go!, which quickly became an Amazon bestseller.

Next Tuesday, the second edition is released.

Putting a piece of your thinking out into the world is both exciting and uncomfortable. The first edition was the result of years spent building Delegate Solutions and helping leaders create capacity through delegation.

Through thousands of conversations with founders, I kept seeing the same pattern:

Most leaders don't have a capacity problem.

They have a letting go problem.

And because of that, most leadership challenges aren't resource problems.

They're behavior problems.

That observation became the foundation for Let It Go, published in 2022.

What I didn't expect was what would happen next.

The conversations that followed since the first release challenged my assumptions, expanded my thinking, and helped me see delegation through a broader research-backed lens.

LEADERSHIP REFRAME

Over the last four years, my thesis has been further proven out: a leader’s struggle with delegation has very little to do with the actual act of delegating. Rather, it’s things like:

• The formed identity tied to being the person who always steps in
• The grief that comes with letting go of work you've owned and won at for years
• The pressure emerging leaders feel when they're no longer individual contributors
• The fear of failure at the bigger work that sits ahead after you let go.

The second edition includes expanded and new frameworks, tools, research, and a brand-new chapter called The Murky Middle of Leadership—written specifically for emerging leaders who are learning to lead while still doing.

NOTICE THIS WEEK

Pay attention to the work you're still holding onto. Not because nobody else can do it. Not because it's the highest-value use of your time.

But because letting it go feels uncomfortable.

Addressing these underlying struggles is where the transformation of letting go finally starts.

TRY THIS

The second edition of Let It Go! releases next Tuesday, June 23.

If delegation, capacity, leadership development, or foudnder dependence are challenges you're actively working through, I'd love for you to read it, share it and connect with me about it.

You can preorder your copy here.

Same core truth. More advanced tools.

A deeper understanding of what it really takes to let go.

Helping you lead with less,

Emily