The Problem: For many established, mid-market companies, that make it to the 8-year mark the greatest barrier to scaling isn’t a lack of opportunity—it’s the accumulation of Distraction Debt. Founders and management teams often find themselves trapped in the operational whirlwind, where growth serves only to increase complexity rather than impact. This results in a leadership bottleneck where the CEO is responsible for the team’s emotional and operational output rather than being responsible for the strategic vision.
The Insight: True organizational breakthrough requires a fundamental shift in how leadership perceives the resource of time. While traditional management treats time as a scarce commodity to be spent, high-performing leaders treat time as an arrival. Time is a structured sequence for intentionality. You can learn to distinguish between busy-work and Right Work.
The Bottom Line: If your current business plan does not solve for your current bottlenecks, you are not funding growth—you are funding distraction. The ability to achieve clarity and reduce stress simultaneously is the hallmark of a resilient, scalable enterprise.
Our brains are wired to seek certainty. We tend to lean into what worked without thinking about whether it’s going to work again. And that space between your current revenue and 10x revenue is uncertainty, a lack of security, and ambiguity.
But you don’t have to be held back by things outside of your control . You already have resources to make real growth. To elevate your business, and amplify your leadership effectiveness, it’s essential to reassess your role regulary, make tough calls, and prioritize with unwavering focus. If you are not outgrowing your CEO role, the business will reach a growth cap. You are the key to breaking through growth plateaus.
Maybe YOU are the Bottleneck: Strategies to Amplify Leadership Effectiveness
A growth oriented CEO recognizes that their role changes and so does the way they bring value to their company because they:
- Know that your job will become obsolete. This is a sign of progress and building future relevancy in the market.
- Empower the team to work through the “clunky” transition of new systems without stepping in to save them. This builds organizational resilience.
- Develop strategic capacity by guiding the team to spend time on 10x thinkingThis builds business for the future.
This is a new way of being. Of leading. As you step away from the Chief Problem Solver and become Chief Value Architect it becomes about how many fires and “urgent” situations never started because you’ve aligned business systems, decision making and strategic thinking.
First, recognize that something is in the way of growth. You might be dealing with something called distraction debt. It’s a version of burnout: focus gets pulled in all sorts of directions, and by the end of the day, everyone feels wiped out but still can’t seem to unwind.
Distraction debt is all about those little, constant interruptions that slowly chip away at attention, leaving behind a feeling of being mentally drained as work for the day wraps up.
Second, find the distractions. To figure out where you might be losing momentum in your business because of distraction debt, here are three accountability questions questions I ask:
- Does the real meeting happen after the official meeting, where 2-3 people challenge the decision in the hallway or on Slack and likely move the finish line?
- If you asked your top five leaders to name the company’s #1 priority for this quarter, would you get five different answers?
- Is “We’ll circle back on this” a common phrase in your executive meetings?
Third, make your assessment of distraction debt. Ask yourself these accountability questions in your next deep work growth time. You are the architect of value creation for your company.
Now you can act with confidence., Take your internal assessment and look externally. What does your Business Instinct hint to you about changes in the way your customers buy, the way your customers use your product, the way the industry is trending and how you want to stand out, and even knowing what your competitors are doing (so you can do things differently).
Build internal accountability + Insights from honed Business Instinct = Growth
Putting the two together is where growth potential is. You ensure priorities stay the priority and tie back to the company’s strategic growth plan. So that your team looks at existing projects and resources and assess the real impact of legacy projects and initiatives that never end. Shedding what isn’t a priority will tell you what the Right Work is right now. This work is what ensures your company’s future.
Let’s get into real business examples. Check out this discussion with Christy Maxfield of Purpose First Advisors and Dean Barta from Barta Business Group about how leaders and business owners might be the bottleneck hindering their business growth.
Here are the key notes from our conversation you don’t want to miss:
- “Assess and sharpen your focus – The greatest obstacle to growth often lies in avoiding tough decisions. Failing to make a choice is still a choice. It often dilutes impact. Set aside dedicated time (like a Present Retreat) to review your priorities, clarify the true value you provide, and eliminate the busywork that distracts from strategic advancement.”
- “Differentiate your roles for clarity and growth – Many business owners find themselves unintentionally wearing the CEO hat, which can pose challenges. Ask yourself: would you hire yourself for this role? Establish clear job descriptions for both CEO and Owner to define your responsibilities, promote effective delegation, and identify where you can add the most value — then focus relentlessly on those areas.”
- “Unleash your greatest asset: YOU – Sustainable and exponential growth begins when leaders evolve authentically, delegate tasks that no longer align with their strategic vision, and cultivate habits that keep them in their zone of genius. Keep in mind: the value you realize for yourself directly influences the value your company delivers to customers and prospective buyers.”
Even before our discussion, the topic seemed to hit a chord on many levels among business professionals, CEOs, and business owners.
Here are valuable insights and experiences on growth, leadership, and the importance of the way we think and the systems we use being aligned.
Dawn Ellery
Independent HR & Benefits Consultant
I’m drawn to this line – “not about finding a new app”, it’s the shiny squirrel we all chase at times that makes us feel like we’re doing something, when we’re just acting busy and spinning our wheels. The new app is the safest place – but that’s not where the growth happens!
Nina Froriep
Personal Brand Builder | Executive Producer | Visual Storyteller
Growth is always so interesting. It isn’t always about adding more, but about stepping back and being honest about what’s no longer working. Re-engineering the CEO role is something a lot of leaders know they need to do, but often don’t slow down enough to actually assess.
Laura Cook
Financial Planner with a Female Focus | CFP® Professional | Financial Advisor
I was captured by the term “values-based” growth. (…) I think values- based companies are some of the strongest and most sustainable.
Howard Steinman
Helping High Performers Navigate Career Crossroads, Promotions, Burnout, and Reinvention
Re-engineering the CEO role—especially with a clear focus on discipline, skills, and awareness—is where real leverage gets unlocked. Most plateaus aren’t a strategy problem—they’re an identity and role-design problem. When the CEO role doesn’t evolve, the business can’t either. I love the emphasis on developing the leader, not just layering on more tools.
Johanna Danaher
Your Calm-in-the-Chaos Coach | Guiding leaders in transition while strengthening wellbeing
The “re-engineering your role” question comes up a lot when the business grows faster than the operating model. One thing I’ve learned is that role clarity is usually a decision problem, not a time management problem.
Shannon Villalba
IP Attorney for Creators | AI Legal Innovator | Protecting Brands, Ideas & Creative Sovereignty
Growth really does ask us to evolve with the business, not just push harder inside old roles and systems. I especially appreciate the reminder that the constraint is often the CEO’s awareness and commitments, not the lack of another tool or app. Re-engineering the role instead of hustling through friction is where sustainable, values-aligned growth actually unlocks. For me, I had to learn different skills such as project management, and began delegating more as I moved into my CEO role.
Diane Titterton
Mindfulness coach | Author of ‘Write Your Own Bloody Self-Help Book’
I think flexibility and curiosity about how to learn and grow ourselves are key to success. Your point about potentially stunting growth due to procrastination has made me want to dig deep and ensure I’m not doing that at present.
Melissa Hefferlin
Academically trained artist | Co-founder of An Artful Life podcast
I’m always trying to translate ideas for companies into what would be the form to fit our little company of two fine artists. I do know that I am rock-sure that in order for my future to change, it is I who has to change. It’s so much clearer in a binary system that either he or I will need to change for the situation to change. There’s nobody else to blame
In the end, growth oriented leaders don’t shy away from strategic diagnostics and asking tough questions. They recognize that the greatest obstacle to the future is often the unexamined complexity of the present. Solving leadership bottlenecks is the first step toward reclaiming your strategic capacity.
Your 2026 growth shouldn’t be a repeat of your past complexity; it should be an evolution of your potential.
If the will to audit your current trajectory eludes you amidst the daily whirlwind, it is time for an outside intervention.
Commit to your path forward and reclaim your competitive advantage with a Growth Framework Reset.
