By Javi Hernández (ERNI Spain)
In today’s fast-changing environments, leaders are often pulled towards control as a way to create stability. But that control can become a trap. When people are treated as dependents rather than trusted as adults, ownership fades, learning slows and organisations lose the ability to adapt. Building maturity in teams means shifting from short-term fixes to long-term capability, which starts with mentoring, not supervision.
The illusion of control
A conflict arises in the team: we intervene to ensure it does not affect performance.
A problem appears in production: we make sure the expert solves it.
A team misses a milestone: we step in and assign tasks to ‘guarantee’ delivery.
In many organisations, when complexity or uncertainty shows up, the reflex is always the same: bring in control.
It feels safe. We believe we are protecting the team. But the reality is: leaders become bottlenecks. We prevent real issues from surfacing, and we limit innovation.
Modern tech environments are too complex, too interconnected, too volatile for a single leader to manage by command. And when leaders decide every step, guide every task and monitor every outcome, they are not empowering their teams: they are tutoring them.
Tutoring creates dependency
Tutoring means correcting instead of helping others learn. It means offering solutions instead of developing capability.
It creates dependency and dependency creates inactivity.
“I had a conflict with a colleague, so I escalated it.ˮ
“There is no need to focus on quality in my developments; the expert will fix any problem.ˮ
“Don’t worry if we miss a milestone.ˮ
These are not personal failures. They are systemic outcomes.
We have designed environments that unintentionally reward waiting over ownership. Control may feel efficient, but it leads to frustration, anxiety and ultimately, disengagement.
Can we really control everything in our organisations, markets and products today? We already know the answer.
That illusion of control is what generates frustration, anxiety and burnout – not only in teams but in leaders too.
Mentoring builds capability
What if the solution is not more control but more trust?
What if our goal is to grow professionals who act with autonomy, adapt to uncertainty and take ownership for impact?
Tutoring may feel safe and fast. Mentoring scales and transforms. One builds compliance. The other builds capability.
In a mentoring organisation:
- A team conflict becomes an opportunity to learn, not something to hide or escalate.
- A production issue becomes a learning moment, where experts teach, and juniors grow.
- A delay triggers shared accountability and better alignment.
Mentoring gives individuals and teams the capacity to act without being told and the clarity to direct that action towards meaningful outcomes.
Leaders need to make sure everyone understands why the work matters.
Leading with vision, not tasks
A mentor does not just assign work; they help people understand why the work matters, what outcomes we are pursuing and what success looks like, especially when the leader is not in the room.
This clarity of purpose enables risk to be shared across the team. When everyone sees the risk, everyone can act to prevent or mitigate it.
To grow real ownership and maturity, mentoring needs to adapt to context – there is not a one-size-fits-all mode of leadership.
Push, pull and contextual mentorship
Effective mentors do not just give space or direction. They flex. Mentoring is not hands-off. It is just context-aware. Sometimes we need to push and share direction, suggest options and move the team forward with clarity. Sometimes we need to pull and create space for others to reflect, explore and act. To listen, rather than instruct.
This is how we lead at ERNI
At ERNI, we don’t just deliver projects. We grow professionals. We create teams that lead themselves with a shared vision, proactive mindset, and accountability to our customers and each other. We lead by mentoring, not tutoring.
