The ARCC of Growth: How Autonomy Builds Leaders (and Scalable Home Care Agencies)

Aaron Marcum
Feb 24
4 min read

One of the most common things I hear from home care owners who are thinking about their next chapter is this:

“I have built something good — but I can’t get out from under it.”

That is rarely a revenue problem. It is a dependence problem. And dependence is almost always a culture problem.

A few years ago, while coaching home care entrepreneurs, I introduced the ARCC of Growth — Autonomy, Relatedness, Capability, and Confidence — rooted in Positive Psychology and inspired by Self-Determination Theory, one of the most researched models of workplace motivation.

Today, we are intentionally integrating ARCC inside the KEEPing Culture Model at Riverside Home Care as we build a team that can lead, perform, and grow without the owner in every room.

Let’s start where it all begins.

Autonomy: Where Capability and Confidence Are Born

Two summers ago, my daughter was given an opportunity most 20-year-olds never experience.

Her employer trusted her to captain a $200K+ boat completely on her own.

No manager on site.

No team beside her.

Full responsibility for safety, execution, and delivering an unforgettable experience for every group of vacationers.

That level of responsibility could have gone very differently.

But her leader did three things right:

Cast a clear vision for what great looked like
Trained her to the standard
Stepped back and trusted her

That is autonomy.

And that autonomy forced growth.

She had to:

Make real-time decisions
Solve problems independently
Own the customer experience
Take full responsibility for outcomes

Her capability did not come first. Her confidence did not come first. They were built because she was trusted.

By the end of the summer, guests were requesting her by name. Reviews mentioned her specifically. She carried herself differently because she had been trusted with something that mattered.

That is the power of autonomy.

It is also exactly what we are developing inside our leadership team at Riverside Home Care.

We are incorporating a powerful autonomy concept that I’ve been coaching on for years, inspired by self-development guru John Maxwell, called the 10/80/10 rule:

First 10% → Define success clearly

Middle 80% → They own the how

Final 10% → Coaching and feedback

That middle 80% is where capability is forged and confidence is earned.

When our care coordinators and field leaders own outcomes:

✔ Decisions move faster

✔ Problems get solved earlier

✔ Directors are no longer the bottleneck

These outcomes are what makes an agency scalable.

Relatedness: The Retention Engine

Home care is deeply human work.

If your caregivers do not feel connected to:

The mission
Their leader
Each other

disengagement shows up quickly.

Relatedness is built through:

Aligning people to roles that fit their strengths
Creating real partnership instead of hierarchy

At Riverside Home Care, when people feel seen and connected:

✔ Retention improves

✔ Communication strengthens

✔ Performance stabilizes

Capability: Fueled by Autonomy and Relatedness

Capability grows from our strengths but also when we are consistently allowed to work through the 80% of the how!

To grow capability, it requires:

Clear expectations, which is the 10% vision
Give trust before it is earned (this works when you hire the right people)
Ongoing training and coaching that reinforces what great looks like, this is the last 10% of the 10/80/10 rule.

We’re embedding this into how we onboard and develop our team.

As capability rises, performance becomes predictable.

Predictability is what allows an owner to step back.

Confidence: The Multiplier

Confidence is the outcome of autonomy, relatedness, and capability working together. But it also accelerates everything else.

Confident teams:

✔ Make decisions without waiting

✔ Solve problems earlier, often without the “hovering” of their direct supervisor

✔ Lead in alignment with the company calling (mission + values)

That is when a business shifts from owner-driven to culture-driven. I wrote a newsletter recently on always building a sellable home care agency, regardless of when you exit. This is one of the most vital pieces to accomplishing this.

Why ARCC Matters for Your Transition

If you are thinking about stepping out of day-to-day operations — or eventually exiting — ARCC is a readiness model.

Buyers and partners look for:

• A team that operates without the owner

• Consistent performance

• Strong retention of the right people

• A culture that scales

Those outcomes come from people who:

➡ Have autonomy

➡ Feel connected

➡ Are more than capable

➡ Carry confidence

That is what we are intentionally building at Riverside. However, we are not perfect in the execution of ARCC, but we are committed to the consistent practice of it, which is what will create the lasting results we are working towards.

A Question Worth Sitting With

If you stepped away for 90 days, what would happen? Would your team wait —or would they lead?

Your answer tells you whether your agency is dependent on you or prepared for its next chapter.

Let’s Talk About What’s Next

If you own a home care agency in:

and you have ever considered:

• Transitioning out of day-to-day operations

• Partnering with a group that values your people and your legacy

• Scaling your impact beyond what you can do alone

I welcome a conversation.

We are partnering with owners who have built something meaningful and want it to continue — with a culture grounded in autonomy, relationships, capability, and confidence.

To learn more, visit us at https://www.rivhc.com/founders and reach out to setup a discovery call with me and my team.

Your next chapter should be built on the same principles that built your first.