GrowthForge: Field Notes #3

Most owners don’t set out to build a business that depends on them.

In the early days, involvement is natural. Decisions are quick, context is shared, and the owner’s presence keeps things moving. It works, and often works well.

The problem is that what works at the beginning can quietly become a constraint later on.

At some point, the business grows, but the owner doesn’t step out in the way they expected. Instead of becoming less central, they become more so.

When this starts to show up, it often looks like commitment rather than dependence.

The owner knows the clients best. They have the history. They understand the nuances. Stepping in feels responsible, even necessary. And because things still get done, the pattern is rarely challenged.

Over time, though, decisions begin to funnel back to one person. Questions escalate unnecessarily. Progress slows in small but persistent ways.

What once felt like leadership starts to feel like load.

Most owners recognise this pattern, but they don’t always know what to do with it.

The common assumption is that delegation is the issue. If only the team were more capable, more confident, or more motivated, things would ease. So the focus shifts to training, encouragement, and asking people to take more ownership.

Sometimes that helps. Often, it doesn’t change the underlying dynamic.

What’s usually happening beneath the surface is structural.

As the business grows, the informal ways decisions were made no longer scale. Authority isn’t clearly defined. Context lives in the owner’s head. Roles expand, but decision rights don’t.

From the team’s point of view, it’s safer to check than to assume. From the owner’s point of view, it’s quicker to decide than to explain. Over time, that loop reinforces itself.

Dependence isn’t created by control alone. It’s created when the system quietly points everything back to one person.

There’s usually a moment when this becomes unavoidable.

The owner realises they’re involved in too many conversations, too many approvals, and too many small decisions. The calendar fills. Interruptions increase. Even time away doesn’t fully disconnect, because the business struggles to move without them.

At that point, frustration often sets in. Not with the business itself, but with the sense that growth hasn’t delivered the freedom that was promised.

What’s rarely asked is whether the business has actually been designed to operate without the owner at its centre.

Trying to force independence at this stage can backfire.

Pushing decisions down without clarity creates hesitation. Asking people to “just take ownership” without boundaries increases risk. Stepping back abruptly can feel like abandonment rather than empowerment.

The result is often more involvement, not less.

Effort is applied in the wrong place, and the dependency deepens.

The businesses that reduce owner dependence do it deliberately.

They clarify what decisions belong where. They make context visible instead of implicit. They design operating rhythms that support autonomy rather than undermine it.

This isn’t about disappearing from the business. It’s about changing the role the owner plays within it.

When structure replaces assumption, involvement becomes a choice rather than a necessity.

This pattern sits at the heart of why GrowthForge took shape.

Again and again, I saw capable owners trapped not by a lack of talent around them, but by systems that made independence difficult and dependence easy. GrowthForge treats owner dependence as a design issue, not a personal failing.

Once that lens is applied, the conversation shifts from “why am I still needed everywhere?” to “what is the system actually asking of me?”

That shift creates options.

If the business still feels heavily dependent on you, it’s worth pausing before assuming you need to work harder at delegation.

Sometimes the more useful question is whether the business has been designed to operate without you at its centre.

If that feels familiar and you’d like to talk it through, you’re welcome to book a short exploratory conversation.