If you're working harder than ever but your business isn't growing proportionally, you haven't hit your capacity as a leader. You've hit the ceiling of founder-led operations. And there's a difference.

In this episode, I'm walking through the 5 signs that tell me a founder is ready to transition from doing everything to building systems and leaders who can run without them.

For each sign, I explain why it happens, what it's really costing you, and exactly what to do about it.

If you recognize yourself in 3 or more of these signs, you're not failing — you're succeeding past your current operating model. That's actually good news, because the fix isn't working harder. It's building different infrastructure.

THE 5 SIGNS:

1. You're the bottleneck in every decision

2. Revenue grew but your hours didn't shrink

3. Your team executes but doesn't think

4. You can't unplug without everything falling apart

5. You're exhausted but the business isn't growing faster

EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:

[00:00] The 11 PM email trap — why you're not a control freak

[01:20] Sign #1: You're the bottleneck + the decision authority matrix

[05:00] Sign #2: Revenue grew but hours didn't + the founder-dependent business model

[08:10] Sign #3: Team executes but doesn't think + the 'no naked problems' rule

[11:50] Sign #4: Can't unplug without chaos + the 'practice vacation' challenge

[15:45] Sign #5: Exhausted but not growing faster + CEO-level time blocking

[19:40] Wrap-up: Why recognizing these signs is actually good news

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• 70% of decisions your team asks about can likely be delegated immediately

• Ask yourself: If I got sick for 2 weeks, what would break? That's your vulnerability list

• Institute a 'no naked problems' rule: every problem must come with a proposed solution

• Block CEO time weekly to answer: What should we stop? What accelerates growth? Who needs development?

RESOURCES:

• Take the free Leadership Assessment (3 min)

• Book a Strategic Discovery Audit ($997 engagement)

• Learn more at thedevaincollective.com

CONNECT WITH THE DEVAIN COLLECTIVE:

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• Website: thedevaincollective.com

CONNECT WITH SHEENA:

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

NEXT EPISODE:

From $500K to $2M: What Actually Has to Change — the treatment plan for everything we diagnosed today.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/beautifullycomplicated-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Beyond Founder-Led — the podcast for women founders who are done being the bottleneck in every decision.

I'm Sheena Hunt, founder of The DeVain Collective. After 20+ years in Fortune 100 operations and close to 15 years building my own businesses, I've watched the same pattern play out hundreds of times: brilliant, capable founders hitting a wall. Not because they lack vision or work ethic, but because they've outgrown founder-led chaos and don't have the systems or leadership capacity to scale sustainably.

That's what this podcast is about — what comes after you can't be in every meeting, make every decision, and personally deliver to every client.

Each week, I'll share frameworks, client stories, and interviews with founders who've successfully made the transition from doing everything to leading everything. Real talk for women-led businesses doing $500K to $5M who are ready to scale without sacrifice.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why I rebranded this podcast around the founder-led problem

• My background in Fortune 100 ops + entrepreneurship

• What to expect from Beyond Founder-Led

• How to know if this podcast is for you

RESOURCES:

• Take the free Leadership Assessment (3 min)

• Book a Strategic Discovery Audit ($997 investment)

• Learn more at thedevaincollective.com

CONNECT WITH SHEENA:

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• Website: thedevaincollective.com

NEXT EPISODE:

5 Signs You've Outgrown Founder-Led Operations — the diagnosis you need before you can fix anything.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/beautifullycomplicated-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scaling is Complicated - in this episode we're focusing on key strategies to undertake as you begin to scale.

________________________________

Make sure you subscribe to the show to join us for every new episode. "Like" it on your app and share it with friends & family! Help us spread the word 😊

How to connect with The DeVain Collective or Sheena:

• Make sure you like the Beautifully Complicated Podcast page on Facebook!
• Sign up for my email list so you can get amazing goodies like Purpose. Profit. Impact. directly to your inbox!
• Check out The DeVain Collective Facebook page and Instagram page and share your insights with the community.
• 1st Mini-Course launched - Optimize the Process is a course focused on helping you with doing the sustainability work in your biz by writing and implementing standard operating procedures and training. Purchase it today!

You can always reach out to the host, Sheena, at:

• Twitter: @SheenaD1 - https://twitter.com/SheenaD1
• Instagram: @SheenaD1 - https://instagram.com/SheenaD1
• Website: www.thedevaincollective.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/beautifullycomplicated-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.