#48 – From the Trenches: Letting Go, Letting Your Son Lead (Manny Anguiano – Convergent Networks)

In this episode of From the Trenches on the BMK Vision Podcast, Josh Peterson sits down with Manny Anguiano (Convergent Networks) for a candid conversation about the leadership cost of staying “the hero” inside your MSP—and what it really takes to step back without letting the business slip. Manny’s story is a familiar arc for founder-led service companies: early momentum, growing responsibility, and a slow drift into constant mental load where you’re physically present at home but operationally trapped at work. If you’ve felt that tension—busy, successful enough to survive, but not truly in control—this episode connects directly to the patterns BMK sees behind owner burnout in MSPs.

The turning point wasn’t a new tool or a better technician. It was a leadership transition—bringing Manny’s son, Adam, into the business with the authority to introduce process discipline, accountability, and a more modern operating cadence. That transition required more than org charts and job titles; it required hard conversations, the humility to admit where delegation was failing, and the maturity to separate “father and son” from “leader and president.” This episode is ultimately about succession as a leadership practice: letting go of control, retiring outdated habits, and building a company that can grow without consuming the founder. If you’re navigating the shift from founder-driven execution to a leadership team model, this aligns with BMK’s thinking on building a real MSP leadership team—and why long-term operational clarity is inseparable from your ability to delegate. If you want the broader operating framework behind these conversations, explore Vision.

Why “letting go” is an operational strategy, not a personality trait

Most founders don’t struggle with delegation because they don’t know it’s important. They struggle because the business grew inside a system that rewarded heroics: answering the call, fixing the urgent issue, smoothing over client tension, and keeping the team happy by absorbing the messy work personally. Manny describes that pattern with unusual clarity—especially the part most owners avoid naming: the people-pleasing instinct that feels like servant leadership, but often becomes a quiet form of control.

What makes this episode valuable is that Manny doesn’t frame the shift as a motivational breakthrough. He frames it as a structural change: processes that expose what’s happening, roles that own outcomes, and boundaries that make it possible to be present at home. The story is less “trust your team” and more “build a business that deserves trust.”

The MSP problem this episode solves

Many MSP owners say they want to scale, but what they really mean is they want relief—relief from being the primary router of every decision, the emergency contact for every client, and the emotional sponge for every internal gap.

This episode addresses three recurring MSP leadership constraints:

• Founder dependency: service quality, sales, client confidence, and internal momentum all orbit one person.
• Hidden operational leakage: no clear handoffs, unclear ownership, and work that only “exists” in the founder’s head.
• Personal cost: being “available” at home while mentally still carrying the business (and everyone in it).

Manny and Josh explore what it looks like when the owner becomes the bottleneck—and how a generational transition can force the discipline founders tend to postpone.

Succession isn’t a transaction. It’s a relationship you must operationalize.

Bringing a family member into leadership doesn’t magically fix the business. In many MSPs, it amplifies existing dysfunction because it removes the safe distance that usually exists between owner and executive. Manny’s description of therapy, coaching, and “third-party truth” (a coach who can say what the family struggles to hear) is the important layer here: you cannot scale a business if you cannot sustain the relationships inside it.

In practical terms, this episode points to a real leadership principle: if you want your company to outgrow your personality, you need a cadence that replaces mood with process. Manny’s son didn’t just bring energy—he brought structure: visibility, standards, and the willingness to challenge “the way we’ve always done it.” That’s how companies graduate from founder-led to team-led.

The uncomfortable truth: your team can’t own what you won’t release

A founder’s reluctance to delegate is often framed as a trust issue, but Manny’s story highlights another angle: delegation fails when the business has never defined what “good” looks like. If ownership is unclear, escalation paths are informal, and the founder steps in whenever something gets tense, the team learns the wrong lesson: “the real job is to hand the hard stuff back to the owner.”

The solution isn’t to delegate more. It’s to define ownership, build repeatable handoffs, and let the system carry the load. That is the point where “letting go” becomes strategy—not emotion.

Episode highlights

• 00:02:41 – Manny’s entry into IT through voice and cabling—and why early ownership can create long-term dependency patterns.
• 00:03:12 – The pivot from traditional phone systems to VoIP and networking, and the leadership risk of outgrowing your partners.
• 00:06:08 – Bringing Adam into the company and the first real steps toward a formal leadership transition.
• 00:08:54 – Why therapy and coaching became operational tools for father–son communication and leadership clarity.
• 00:21:38 – The moment founders face: delegation and trust aren’t optional if the business is going to scale past the owner.
• 00:26:39 – Stress showing up at home as absence—being there physically while the business still owns your mind.
• 00:51:55 – How high-level athletics shaped Manny’s discipline—and why discipline often outlasts talent in leadership.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my MSP is too founder-dependent?
If key client relationships, escalations, sales momentum, or service outcomes consistently require you to intervene, your company is running on founder dependency—not leadership infrastructure.

What’s the most common reason MSP owners fail at delegation?
It’s usually not laziness or ignorance. It’s unclear ownership: no defined “definition of done,” informal handoffs, and a pattern where the founder rescues the system instead of strengthening it.

Is bringing family into the MSP a good succession plan?
It can be—but only if you treat the transition as both an operational change and a relationship discipline. Roles, authority, and boundaries must be explicit, and third-party coaching often helps.

Why does burnout show up even when the MSP is “doing fine” financially?
Because burnout is often an operational symptom: the business depends on constant founder context-switching, heroics, and emotional availability—none of which scales.

How do I start transitioning from founder-led to team-led?
Start with clarity: define ownership by function (service, sales, finance, client success), establish a cadence for review and accountability, and stop personally insulating the business from the consequences of unclear process.

About the guest: Manny Anguiano

Manny Anguiano is the founder of Convergent Networks, a technology services provider delivering VoIP, networking, physical security, access control, and managed IT solutions. With the discipline forged as a Division I athlete and the hard-earned lessons of long-term ownership, Manny has helped evolve the business from founder-driven operations into a more scalable, process-led model alongside his son, Adam, who serves as president and co-owner.

🌐 Connect with Manny on LinkedIn →

About the host

Josh Peterson is the CEO of Bering McKinley and host of the BMK Vision Podcast. Through the From the Trenches series, Josh highlights MSP leaders who redefine growth through creativity, resilience, and genuine client connection.

🌐 Connect with Josh on LinkedIn →

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Want to continue the conversation?

If you’re an MSP owner navigating leadership transition, delegation, and the operational discipline required to scale without sacrificing your family life, explore Vision or apply to be a guest on the podcast.

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