Why Most Founders Feel Trapped—And the Deep Work Fix That Frees Them
“The greatest gift you can give your team is clarity.”
Founders crave freedom. They would love to spend more time on their business and less time in it. They can become frustrated and, at times, overwhelmed by the reliance on them, but the blind spot is that it’s a self-created dependency, as they are missing one crucial element.
The founders who become ‘trapped’ by their business are the ones who haven’t created good enough processes and documentation. They have forgotten the golden rule that they (your leaders and your team) don’t know what you know (yet) and don’t have your lived experience, so they need a manual to perform without you.
We spend a lot of time in the collective, encouraging our founders to do the one thing that doesn’t come naturally to most of them: focus on deep work, create processes, write strategy, and generally share their knowledge in a way that others can follow. Founders are idea people who love brainstorming and creating. Most are natural leaders who are comfortable leading on instinct, so they overlook the fact that others may need more guidance and perhaps more information than they do to perform confidently at a similar level. Most cooks require a recipe to cook confidently, especially when starting out. Leadership, like cooking, is a learnt skill, but often we are expected to learning without the equivalent of a recipe book.
Reframe: Processes enable freedom and empowerment.
If you want your team to step up and take on more accountability, it starts with you and the clarity of what you ask of them. The clearer the ask, the more detailed the guidance, the more likely they are to step forward, as they will be more confident in their ability to succeed.
See ‘deep work’ as a stepping stone to freedom rather than a chore. Do this well, and you only need to do it once.
Rethink: Where are we underperforming?
A good starting point when deciding where to improve processes or clarify expectations is to examine the areas of the business that are currently underperforming. Upon reviewing this area, you may find insufficient guidance or incomplete processes, making it far harder for people to achieve the level of performance you expect here.
If that is the case, this responsibility lies with you and whoever oversees that part of the business.
Refocus: Set the tone
As is often the case, the easiest way to change the perceived importance of processes is to lead by example. Over the past 12 months, we have worked extensively with our clients on the significance of documenting and articulating their business strategies. Consequently, their leaders now have much greater clarity and can operate more independently.
By investing the time to craft their strategy, they have made their business easier to lead and have simultaneously reduced reliance on themselves.By dedicating time to document their expectations and thoughts, they have established greater white space and afforded themselves more freedom.
So, if you are craving more freedom right now, it might be time for some deep work first.
It’s time to build a leadership team that doesn’t just support your business — they lead it.
Ready to take the first step? Start here →
