Kate Clarke Consulting Ltd
Most business owners don’t struggle because they lack ambition, capability or drive. They struggle because growth changes the game.
As your business grows, decisions become more complex, leadership demands increase, and the way work gets done needs to evolve. What worked brilliantly in the early days can quietly start to slow things down if it isn’t deliberately shaped.
Here are some top tips when thinking about how you structure and lead your business.
When growth feels fine… but a bit heavier
Most business leaders I meet don’t say they’re struggling, they say things are going well. But as the business grows decisions can take a bit longer than they used to. More things come back to them and there’s more thinking to do, even when there is a team to help. Nothing’s broken but it’s just heavier than it was.
That’s usually the point where it helps to pause and ask whether the business is still set up for how it’s growing, not just how it started. Do you have the right roles, with the right people capability in the right place?
When everyone’s busy, but you’re not sure why
A really common moment for business leaders is realising that people are working hard, but it’s harder to see whether the effort is landing in the right places. Meetings multiply and you’re involved in more than you expected to be.
Often, that’s not a people problem at all. It’s just a sign that a bit more clarity on who is doing what and why, and being firmer on who is accountable, would make everything flow more easily. Does everyone know what they are meant to be accountable for and the outcomes they are expected to deliver?
When leading starts to feel different
At some point, leading the business stops feeling like doing the work you love and starts feeling more like holding the whole thing together. You haven’t changed, but the business has.
Business leaders who notice this early and give themselves space to think, and become more intentional about how they lead tend to find the business becomes lighter again, not heavier. Is your leadership style helping or hindering your people to deliver?
