“I’ve been flat out.”
It’s something I hear frequently from Directors of growing SMEs.
At £1m+, constant busyness is rarely a sign of success. It’s usually a signal.
Because “busy” often means:
• Reacting instead of directing
• Carrying decisions that should sit elsewhere
• Allowing operational noise to crowd out architecture
• Remaining essential to too many moving parts
Early-stage leadership is effort.
Sustained growth requires structure.
The inflection point comes when the question shifts from:
“How much can we handle?” to “What have we built that works without us?”
A full diary isn’t proof of progress.
It’s often evidence of dependency.
The Directors who scale successfully make a deliberate move from operator to architect.
They reduce reliance.
They clarify ownership.
They build decision infrastructure.
They create space to think.
That transition isn’t accidental. It’s designed.
Earlier this year, we wrote about why being busy is a leadership failure.
The response was strong – because many recognised themselves in it.
We’ve since gone deeper in a recent podcast episode, unpacking:
✔️Why busyness feels productive (even when it’s structural drag)
✔️The shift from operational control to architectural leadership
✔️Practical ways to reduce dependency at the top
You can watch the episode here:
If you’re at the point where growth still relies too heavily on you, it’s worth the conversation.
I work privately with a small number of SME leadership teams each year to make this shift…reducing dependency at the top while strengthening performance beneath it.
If that would be valuable, reply to this email and we can arrange a conversation.
