What relationship do you have with your business?

Relationships need to evolve as our needs change. If relationships don’t evolve they tend to die.

And this is very much the case if we are considering the relationship between founders and their company. To a lesser extent it is also the reality for the relationship between leaders and their company.

The company needs change as the business scales, as your team becomes more proficient and as you develop more leadership capability through the company.

What was the ideal relationship previously probably is the relationship you need in the future.

Reframe Your Relationship With Your Business

In simple terms there are 3 possible relationships

1. Dependence: “My business defines me.”

2. Independence: “My business runs without me.”

3. Interdependence: “My business and I evolve each other.”

For most founders and leaders #1 feels overwhelming and unsustainable as the business grows in size and complexity. In contrast #2 feels both scary and too soon. So by default the ideal one we should be seeking is #3

Rethink Your Role as the Business Grows

Ask yourself:

• How do I move out of dependency?

• What can I let go of and what is the blocker I need to overcome here?

• Where am I inadvertently blocking someone else’s development by being too present or too controlling?

• What is missing in order for the business to be less dependent on me?

Is it:

• Better processes?

• Better people?

• Greater clarity?

Refocus on Operational Dependency

Consider where the business is ‘operationally dependent’ on you or your sign off and start from there. 

Operationally dependency (being needed for the service or product to be created &/or delivered) is the most overwhelming dependency because as the business grows the dependency increases accordingly.

If you had to take a 3-month sabbatical:

• What would you delegate, and to whom?

• What processes would need documenting?

• Where does the business need more autonomy?

This might feel uncomfortable to consider but it’s less uncomfortable than being overwhelmed and staying in a dependent relationship.

Remember all relationships need to evolve if they are going to be sustained and if they are going to be mutually beneficial

Do this for ‘future you’ !

At The Rethink Collective, we help leaders create the time, structure, and space to have these conversations, so they’re not squeezed out by the pace of change.

If you’d like to explore how this could work in your business, let’s talk.