Entrepreneurs Should Not Serve as Brands' Measurement Instruments
Scaling up in any industry is a daunting task. With millions of companies popping up every year, competition is fierce, and brand establishment becomes a challenge. To overcome these obstacles, leaders need to be creative and dedicated, and they must be willing to give up control at the right moments.
I've observed numerous leaders who refuse to move out of the spotlight even when their companies have grown beyond their individual capabilities. They strive to be the brand's compass, its guiding light, its North Star for all things and decisions. However, this is detrimental to business success.
But how much damage actually results from overly obsessed founders who can't let go of control? Here are some of the hidden costs that stem from this inability to relinquish control:
You're Creating a Bottleneck
With a founder at the helm who won't step aside, the company becomes its own bottleneck. While it's simple to identify bottlenecks in teams, processes, or individual employees, founders often overlook how they themselves can become a major obstacle to growth.
This frequently manifests in brand management. Founders get upset when employees fail to grasp the brand properly, yet they've never taken the time to elucidate it to them. To founders, the brand is innate and immediate, but it's not always apparent to others.
Kristen Brown, CEO and Creative Director of Hoot Design Company, regularly witnesses this pattern. "Founders are not, and should not be, the brand." Brown insists. "They are an extension of the brand, but not the brand itself." She underscores an essential point: "You can't scale, and you can't exit if you're the whole brand. How can you ever hand off the baton successfully?"
The solution, according to Brown and her team, lies in documenting and systematizing your brand ethos. This means crafting your principles in writing, generating straightforward frameworks that any employee can easily grasp, and if need be, undergoing a strategic rebrand. Building a powerful, independent brand identity--one that thrives beyond the founder--is vital for creating lasting value in your business.
Consider Apple. It had a well-established brand framework in place before passing the torch from Steve Jobs to Tim Cook. This enabled the company to maintain its identity and continue growing despite losing the founder who brought it to life.
Are you the bottleneck in your business? If so, where can you let go of control and entrust it to better-equipped leaders?
You're Ignoring Personal Shortcomings
Founders frequently fall into the trap of believing their own hype. They boast about their business's success, and their continued growth only reinforces their prestige. This is all warranted. However, it doesn't mean they're infallible. Every founder has their flaws, and ignoring them can lead to unnecessary risks.
Matt King, CEO of Gobundance, a high-level networking community for successful entrepreneurs, has observed this problem firsthand. He points out that many founders mistakenly believe that maintaining direct control over all aspects of their business ensures quality and uniformity. "High achievers often build their success on personal excellence and hands-on involvement," he explains. "This creates a caveat when scaling requires letting go."
King recommends a "trust but verify" approach: start by delegating small, low-risk tasks and gradually expand responsibility as team members demonstrate their competence. This way, you can establish accountability through key performance indicators (KPIs) AND monitoring structures without being heavily involved in daily operations.
If you're an engaged founder, take an honest look at your situation. Examine where you're making key decisions and consider your weaknesses. Then use these insights to identify where you should delegate control inside your business.
You're Avoiding Setbacks Due to Stubbornness and Lack of Perspective
Many founders undermine their growth potential by refusing to move out of the way. A rigid mindset and lack of perspective can prevent them from seeing when they need to give up the reins.
The challenge I leave you with today is this: are you one of those leaders? Do you see yourself as your "brand barometer"?
The self-congratulatory label may have boosted your ego or offered comfort in the startup phase of your company. However, if you're managing an established or expanding business, it's no longer healthy to have your identity and involvement in every aspect of your company. Give your daily activities a thorough examination and consider where it might be time to bring in more qualified professionals to aid you in taking your next step towards lasting growth.
Remember, relinquishing control is a necessary part of scaling up successfully.
- Entrepreneurs who refuse to delegate responsibilities can inadvertently create a bottleneck in their businesses, as Kristen Brown, the CEO of Hoot Design Company, often observes. These founders may find it challenging to hand off the baton to new leaders if they are the brand's entire identity.
- Matt King, the CEO of Gobundance, highlights that founders may stubbornly hold onto control due to their success built on personal excellence and hands-on involvement. However, as businesses scale, they must adopt a "trust but verify" approach and delegate tasks to demonstrate team members' competence and establish accountability.
- A rigid mindset and lack of perspective can prevent some founders from realizing the need to give up control. This stubbornness can hinder their businesses' growth and progress into the next phase, illustrating the necessity of relinquishing control as a critical aspect of successful scaling.
