It’s a difficult conversation, but one more agency founders need to be having. At a certain point, what got you here won’t get you there. And if your business feels like it’s hit a ceiling, it might be time to ask a challenging question: Am I the one holding us back?
In this short video, our founder Simon Penson talks through a pattern we’re seeing more and more – not just at Scaled, but in dozens of agencies and B2B businesses we work with across the UK.
When you’re building something from scratch, certain people become vital. You worry about what would happen if they left. But over time, the people (yourself included) who were once crucial to progress can actually start to hold things back.
The reality is, everyone has a sweet spot – a zone where their strengths and experience align. But when a business grows, it often outpaces those strengths. It’s not unusual to find yourself no longer enjoying your role, or no longer being the right person to lead the next stage of growth.
Sometimes, the boldest and best decision is to step aside – either from the CEO role or from another top-level post, and allow someone with the right experience to take the reins. That might apply to others in your senior team too. Perhaps they’ve been over-promoted, and what’s now needed is someone with a deeper track record at a larger scale.
In the video, Simon discusses:
- Why founders often outgrow the CEO role
- The emotional ties that make it hard to make people changes
- How to spot when a senior hire is no longer fit for purpose
- The freedom that comes from getting back into your ‘zone of genius’
- Why experienced leadership is often the key to unlocking growth
This isn’t about stepping back. It’s about stepping up, strategically. Reassessing your leadership structure might just be the breakthrough your agency needs.
