Stop Solving All the Problems in Your Business
If you’re the founder or CEO, here’s a quick gut check:
Are you still the chief problem solver in your business?
Do all roads lead back to you for decisions, approvals, or firefighting?
Are you secretly (or not-so-secretly) exhausted?
You’re not alone. But here’s the hard truth: if your team brings every problem to you, the problem might be you.
It’s not your fault—we’re wired to take ownership, fix things fast, and protect what we’ve built. That mindset likely got your business off the ground in the first place. But it won’t get you to the next level.
If you want to scale, you have to let go.
The Bottleneck at the Top
What I see over and over again with growth-stage businesses is that the CEO is the single point of failure. They’re making the decisions, running the meetings, jumping in to “save the day,” and wondering why growth has stalled out.
Meanwhile, the team is waiting. Watching. Reacting.
They’ve been trained—accidentally—to bring problems up instead of solving them across or down.
You can’t scale a company that way.
Scaling your business isn’t about hiring more people or adding complexity—it’s about increasing your organization’s capacity to make great decisions without you.
That requires clarity, structure, and trust.
Clarity – Your team needs to understand the vision, values, and priorities. If they don’t know what success looks like, they’ll always defer to you.
Structure – Scaling requires systems, rhythms, and processes—not just hustle. (This is where tools like the Scaling Up framework come in.)
Trust – You have to trust your team to try, to miss, and to learn. No growth comes without a little friction.
When I coach CEOs, I ask them, “Are you building a business that works with or without you?”.
I usually get responses that include fear of being perceived as incompetent. It’s not about checking out—it’s about leveling up.
You should be the architect, not the bricklayer. Making a shift from problem-solver to coach is what unlocks real business growth.
When you stop solving every problem yourself, your team rises and starts owning outcomes, not just tasks. You also buy back time to focus on vision, strategy, and momentum - the stuff only you can do.
Stop being the bottleneck. Start being the builder. Your business and your team will thank you.
Ready for the Next Step?
If you’re serious about scaling your business but feel stuck in the weeds, let’s talk. I offer a free Growth Assessment where we dig into what’s holding you back—and map out how to move forward with clarity and confidence.
Click here to schedule your Growth Assessment call now.
