The Gift of Letting Go
Every December, I try to make time to slow down. It’s usually messy - half-finished projects, open Slack threads, and an inbox that looks like it multiplied overnight.
But this year feels different.
Because this was the year I finally started to let go.
What Letting Go Really Means
Letting go used to sound like failure to me.
Like I was losing control or lowering the bar.
But now I see it for what it really is - leadership.
Letting go means trusting the team you’ve built to carry what you no longer need to hold. It means believing in the systems, people, and processes you’ve spent years refining. It means releasing the belief that your worth is tied to how much you do, and remembering that leadership is about direction, not constant motion.
This year, I let go of a lot - the need to be the one solving everything, the belief that rest was optional, and the idea that being busy meant being valuable.
And what I got in return was peace.
The Best Things I Didn’t Do
Some of my proudest moments this year weren’t things I did - they were things I didn’t.
I didn’t step in when my team had it covered.
I didn’t fill every gap myself.
I didn’t say yes to everything just to prove I could handle it.
Instead, I made space. And that space became where the best ideas lived - for Alpine, for our team, and for me personally.
When I stopped trying to do it all, I became a better leader, a more present mom, and a more creative thinker.
The Team That Made It Possible
This season, I keep thinking about our Alpine Virtual team. Over thirty incredible virtual assistants and an incredible VA success coach and account manager who make this company what it is.
We just had our virtual Christmas party - Christmas trivia, gift unboxing, and a lot of laughter. No agenda. No hidden coaching moment. Just connection. About half of our team was able to make it. The entire time I kept thinking, This is the point.
We built something beautiful together. Something that runs not because of one person’s effort, but because of shared vision, trust, and care.
The real gift this year wasn’t hitting every goal or growing by a certain percentage - it was watching people grow, collaborate, and lead alongside me.
What I’m Carrying Into Next Year
If this year was about letting go, next year will be about leading with intention.
I want to keep making space - for people, for creativity, for calm. Because when there’s space, there’s clarity. And when there’s clarity, there’s growth.
For every leader reading this, my encouragement is simple: You don’t have to hold everything for your business to thrive. You just have to hold the right things - vision, trust, and purpose - and let your team, your systems, and your support carry the rest.
The Gift of Support
The best gift I gave myself this year wasn’t time off - it was support.
Support that came from my team, from my systems, and from choosing not to do it all myself.
If you’ve been leading alone - spinning plates, answering late-night emails, and holding everything together - maybe this is your year to do it differently.
Hiring help isn’t a sign you’re stepping back. It’s a sign you’re stepping into the kind of leadership that lasts. Because the leaders who last aren’t the ones who do the most. They’re the ones who know when to let go.
