Goya and the founder who cannot let go.

Originally published on LinkedIn in early March 2026.

Saturn Devouring His Son (1819-1823) by Francisco de Goya

A giant, devouring his own child. Eyes wide open. He looks terrified.

This isn't malice, if you ask me. No deliberate pain, or desire to destroy—but fear dressed up as control. Goya painted this on his bedroom wall: Saturn’s gaze is fixated on his son, but he doesn't appear cruel. He looks afraid of what he created, and completely unable to release it.

At FABRIC, we see this all the time. The founder who says they want to let go… and can't. From the outside, this rarely looks like fear. Instead, it looks like impossibly high standards, or the quiet conviction that nobody can do this quite like they can. It shows up in the brilliant senior hire who never quite gets the room they need to lead. And sometimes it shows up in the founder who is simply better at starting things than running them but hasn't yet found the grace to call it what it is. The result? The company stays just dependent enough. Just fragile enough that taking a month off feels hard and leaving or transitioning feels darn right impossible.

But what if the tight grip is quietly suffocating your team? What if it's stifling the creativity you hired them for? What if it's eroding the very ownership you need them to feel?

I don’t believe that Saturn didn't set out to destroy what he'd made. He was afraid of what losing control would cost him. He was afraid of what it might become without him. Hold sand too tightly and it slips through your fingers. Open your palm, just enough, and it stays.

What are you holding that was never meant to stay in your hands?


Laurie posts weekly reflections on leadership and business building—with insights drawn from art, myth and literature. Follow her or FABRIC for more.

💌 Title: Goya and the founder who cannot let go
🎭 Inspiration: Saturn Devouring His Son (1819-1823) by Francisco de Goya
🎨 Photo: Public domain, via Wikipedia