When you first start a business, you’re the leader, the driving force behind it. You juggle a whole host of roles, from customer support and marketing, to sales and strategy. You make every decision. You lead the business in the right direction. But, this isn’t sustainable. If you don’t adapt – and by adapt, we mean making sure the business isn’t completely dependent on you – you run the risk of burning out. You’ll burn out as a business owner, and the business will burn out because it’s not being supported in the way it needs. To ensure business success, you need a business that can function without you. This doesn’t mean losing control and handing everything over, it means finding a way to utilise the expertise of others, whilst still being a big part of the day-to-day running of things.
Have You Fallen Into the Trap of Founder Dependency?
There are various ways a business falls into the trap of founder dependency, including not wanting to delegate, not having scalable systems and bottlenecks caused by institutional knowledge.
Institutional Knowledge Bottleneck
As a founder, all the business knowledge is in your head. How the operations flow, what clients want from you and where to find historical information. No one else really knows, which becomes an issue if you’re suddenly unable to help. You’ve become the ‘go to’ for information, which means everyone comes to you, all the time. This is time-consuming for everyone.
Reluctance to Delegate
Whether it’s because you’re scared of someone else executing something poorly, a lack of trust in others or simply habit, many founders struggle to hand over responsibility. But, delegation is a big part of growing a business. However, a lot of business owners find it hard to completely step back and let someone else take control, without micromanaging. You can’t do everything, otherwise founder dependency will creep up on you.
Hiring Junior Staff, Not Executives
Founders often try to solve dependency issues by hiring more junior staff, which doesn’t always pay off. These hires still rely heavily on the founder for direction, making it hard for you to step back. Instead of elevating the business and growing away from founder dependency, you end up adding more people for you to manage.
Lack of Scalable Systems
If your business relies on you to monitor every process or catch every mistake, you’re going to struggle to grow your business. Without documented systems and clear KPIs, scale becomes impossible, as you’re the only one capable of putting plans into action and seeing them through.
Fear of Letting Go
Let’s face it, letting go can be tough as a business owner. You’ve dedicated time, money and resources into growing a business, turning a passion project, side hustle or startup into a successful brand. It’s not easy to take a step back, especially if your identity is wrapped up in your business. Letting go, even slightly, can feel like losing relevance or risking failure. But, clinging to control doesn’t preserve your legacy or protect your business. If anything, it has the opposite effect.
Why Founder Dependency is a Problem
Founder dependency isn’t something you can sweep under the rug and forget about. Eventually, it’ll catch up with you and your business. Burnout is the obvious issue, but that’s not where the problem with founder dependency ends.
- Growth slows down because every decision runs through you. There’s no one else to lighten the load or take charge when you need a break.
- Without scalable processes and leadership beneath you, your business can’t grow past a certain point. There’s only so much you can do on your own.
- If you ever want to sell, exit or raise funding for your business, founder dependency is a red flag. Investors and acquirers want businesses that can thrive without their founder. They don’t want to acquire a business, only to have it fail because you’re not part of the action.
- Everyone needs a break but with founder dependency, even a long weekend away can feel risky. You need to be able to have a break, knowing that the business can run without you. Founder dependency means there’s a risk of things falling apart in your absence.
The Solution to Founder Dependency: Fractional Leadership
A lot of business founders make the mistake of assuming there’s only two ways to deal with founder dependency. They either need to keep going, stay involved in everything, and hope you’ll somehow create more time. Or, they hire a full-time executive, hand over big responsibilities, and risk losing control or culture. There’s actually a smarter, more flexible option that falls somewhere between the two. This is where fractional leadership comes in.
Fractional leadership involves bringing in experienced executive-level talent, on a part-time or on-demand basis. They’re there to provide strategic guidance, leadership and structure, without the cost and commitment that comes with a full-time hire.
- You Stay in Control – With fractional leadership, you stay in control of your business. They’re not there to replace you or undermine you. They’re there to support you, extend your reach and help you to reach your business goals. You’re still in control of the vision and strategy, they just help you to operate it.
- Experience Without Overheads – There’s no denying the cost of hiring a full-time executive, but fractional leadership is a lot more affordable. Instead of hiring someone junior and training them up, or hiring a costly experienced exec, you get senior expertise from day one. You only pay for what you need, whether that’s one or two days per week or short-term work on a specific project.
- They Put Plans Into Action – A great fractional leader doesn’t just do the work you set them, they put plans into action. They build systems, train your team and install dashboards so you can actually step back confidently.
- You Gain Strategic Insight – Fractional leaders often come with cross-industry experience, as they’ve had the chance to work with a whole host of different businesses. They’ve seen what works, and what doesn’t, in business at your stage and they bring that insight to you.
Signs You’re Ready for Fractional Leadership
At Profici, we’ve seen first hand how impactful fractional leadership can be for a business. But, how do you know if you’re ready to take that step?
- If you’re the decision-maker for almost everything, and you’re struggling to keep up with those decisions, it might be time for fractional leadership.
- If your team is capable and experienced, but directionless without you, you might need a fractional leader to take over when you need a break.
- You want to grow, but don’t want to hire a full-time exec yet, either because you can’t afford to or because you only need part-time help.
- You’re working in the business, handling day-to-day operations, more than you’re working on the business. A fractional leader can give you more time to focus on strategy and growth.
- You haven’t taken a real break in years, and holidays feel out of reach. A fractional leader leaves the business in safe hands so you can relax, unwind and enjoy a moment away from being a business owner.
Founders often assume they must choose between involvement and control, or freedom and chaos. But, that’s not the case. As a business leader, you can use fractional leadership to bridge the gap between the two. You’ll enjoy the support of having someone to delegate to, without losing control or feeling pushed out of the business you’ve built up over the years. With expert level support, without demanding a loss of control, it’s easy to see why fractional leadership is growing in popularity. You stay at the front of the business, running things, but you don’t have to do it alone. When your business no longer depends on you to survive and founder dependency is no longer an issue, the business is strong enough to scale.
A Profici, our fractional leadership expertise gives your business what it needs to grow, and gives you a moment to rest. Get in touch to find out more.
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