Redesign Your Leadership for Scale
Hi Reader
A director said to me: “I don’t feel like a CEO – I feel like the office manager, client lead, HR rolled into one.” Which raises the question: what does leading with a CEO mindset actually look like?
Because the business needs you to play a different role. The identity that built your reputation – being the one with the highest standards and all the answers – isn’t enough to scale what you’ve built. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re running a team of eight or a firm of hundreds, the shift in how you lead applies the same.
The Weight
What worked in the early days begins to fray as you scale. You often notice it in the pauses:
- Meetings that stall without your input
- Proposals that wait for your sign-off
- Key decisions that always loop back to you
Even with senior hires in place, the informal ways that once gave you agility now creak under growth.
Being at the centre of it all can feel noble – you protect reputation, client relationships, and guard standards. But it slowly erodes team confidence and leaves you carrying way too much.
Progress that stalls without your input is a sign the business is leaning too heavily on you. And while you hold on to being the answer, the bigger agenda of growth, innovation, and your own energy, waits.
In the work I do with leaders, this is often the tension beneath the surface: proud of what they’ve built, yet holding more than they should.
Shifting Standards
Leading like a CEO isn't about having every answer, but shaping the standards and rhythms that allow others to deliver at pace.
Your role shifts from being the source of knowledge, to being the architect of how judgement and decisions flow across the business. Maintaining high standards and strong delivery doesn't need you to know everything. It requires clarity about what good looks like, and a rhythm that upholds it.
When I work with leaders on this shift, the breakthrough is always a mix of mindset and practice. A shift in how you think about your leadership, backed up with the shared processes and expectations that uphold standards. And while the first reaction might be "I'm giving up control", you're actually upgrading your role – from owning all the answers to shaping how others can make them well.
This change is essential if the firm is to stay agile. A business that waits for the leader's word on everything can't stretch to meet new opportunities.
But this isn’t a switch you instantly flip. You don’t stop being an expert overnight. You also can't suddenly leave a void for the team to fill. It needs a managed but bold shift in how you lead and how the business runs, that lets the firm grow and gives others space to grow too.
What's Your Measure?
One question I’ll often ask is: How many important decisions are being made without you? The answer is usually telling.
Think back over the last few weeks. Where did things stall until you weighed in? Where did the team hold back, even when they had the information? Those moments show where you sit on the spectrum today.
The cost isn’t just the delays and bottlenecks – it’s the potential you never unlock, the confidence your team never builds, and the progress your vision never reaches. The greater risk is in holding on, because that’s what keeps the business smaller than it could be.
Leading like a CEO means choosing a different investment: every hour you release from being the fallback is an hour you put into shaping the standards, systems, and culture that let the business grow beyond you. That’s how you create the space for scale, innovation, and impact.
So ask yourself:
What would change if your CEO focus was on how progress gets made without your everyday input?
It’s not easy to make this shift on your own. The pull of being the answer-holder is strong – but most leaders stay there too long and it costs them growth.
If you’re ready to break that pattern and step into leading like a CEO, let’s talk.
→ From 1:1 coaching and strategic partnership, through to larger transformations – you’ll find three clear options to help you land your biggest outcomes.
And if you’d rather cut straight to a conversation, just hit reply and let’s chat.
Stay ambitious.
Rob
Was this forwarded to you? Sign up to Ignition Point
Sparked Ambition Ltd | linkedin.com/in/robstubbs