The difficult job of firing yourself as a leader

Many times the leader starts out as the first employee, brimming with passion and a love for getting the thing done — the core service itself. As the company grows, however, so do their responsibilities, forcing them to juggle their ‘true love’ with new demands. Eventually they start to use the assistance of other people, sometimes reluctantly. But what they must do is even harder — recognize the roles they can no longer excel at and fully replace themselves, no matter how painful.

What would make a leader evaluate themselves as not good enough for a role they established? Vision. When a leader becomes more consumed by the big vision and the excellence required to reach it, their ego shrinks. They become small, necessarily.

From that vantage point, clarity emerges: ‘I’m no longer focused enough to be great at this’ or ‘This person is sharper than me in this role; it’s time they take over while I focus on another component of the big picture.’