Transforming a Self-Sustaining Organization in 7 Leader-Led Steps
If all aspects of an organization are relying exclusively on its leader, from process and strategy to sales and relationships, it is likely to experience a phenomenon known as the “visionary leadership paradox.” It happens when a leader’s inspiring vision fails to move his company forward. Instead, it creates systemic risks due to over-reliance on the founder’s skills, knowledge and direction. Consequently, despite having a skilled leader, the organization struggles to innovate and succeed because it cannot escape the founder’s influence. The consequences of this situation range from knowledge silos and inefficient processes to talent retention and reduced profitability. In this article, we discuss how to reduce the effects of founder dependency and how to build a sustainable organization.
How can you handle the effects of founder dependency?
1. Organize decision making
One of the first indicators of founder dependency is slow decision-making, as the founder needs to sign off on every activity and project. To counter this trend, you need to establish a standard decision-making process that empowers employees other than the founder to actively participate in various projects and activities within the company. One way to achieve this is to use the RACI Responsibility Assignment Matrix, which outlines who is responsible, accountable, consulted or informed for each project. This approach defines clear roles for each decision, allowing all participants to monitor progress, take responsibility and improve collaboration between stakeholders. Most importantly, it helps to curb the tendency to seek the founder’s approval at every stage of the project.
2. Empowering middle leadership
The fact that an entire company relies on one person can mean that there are no reliable figures to share the weight. Therefore, it is important that you take steps to develop the leadership structure of your organization, and especially middle managers. By providing leadership development training programs, workshops, and mentorship opportunities, you can uncover hidden talent and build a leadership pipeline that fosters organizational growth and success. In this way, you will create an intermediate layer of professionals between the employees and the founder, providing employees with a safe alternative when they face challenges or work on projects.
3. Eliminate bypass behavior
A common trend in founder-dependent companies is bypass behavior. This happens when employees move around formal procedures to achieve their goals more quickly. For example, instead of asking their managers for help, employees go directly to the founder for answers to their questions. While this approach can lead to faster results, it is not always the most efficient and can increase the effects of founder dependency. To improve organizational performance, start by establishing clear communication procedures for employees to follow. Additionally, ensure that department heads are readily available and able to handle requests and queries. While communication with the founder can still happen, it’s better to set up a weekly check-in for any outstanding issues, rather than reaching out constantly.
4. Decentralize client and partner relationships
While you might think that close relationships between customers and leaders benefit customer management and brand loyalty, the opposite is often true. The client must learn to trust the company itself rather than the current CEO or founder. If this is the case in your organization, now is the time to transform client interactions. Break the founder dependency cycle by introducing alternative contact points, such as account managers or consultants, who can take on clients directly and exclusively. This will reduce the founders’ workload, distribute client responsibility more evenly, and contribute to smoother and more successful collaboration with external parties.
5. Create a culture of freedom
Another way to reduce the effects of founder dependency is to take decisive steps to change the culture that perpetuates it. Employees don’t ask founders for permission and guidance just because they need their expertise. They also do this because working with founders and being seen by them is critical to their professional development. To break this pattern, it is important to promote psychological safety, independent thinking and accountability throughout the organization. Celebrate employees who take initiative and avoid the easy way of asking for the founder’s input. And if mistakes happen along the way, treat them as opportunities for improvement to keep employees taking ownership of their work.
6. Share vision and strategy
Founder dependency often occurs because employees do not have enough information to influence or take charge of their work. Reducing the influence of founders can often be as simple as sharing the company’s vision and strategy with the entire workforce. When employees have a deep understanding of what their company is trying to achieve in the short and long term, they are more likely to contribute meaningful ideas, opinions and feedback. At the same time, knowing the company’s mission and strategy makes it easier for them to make independent decisions, as they will be able to assess what is and is not aligned with organizational goals.
7. Foster organizational flexibility
The ultimate strategy you should follow to address the effects of founder dependency is to take steps to create an organization that can grow beyond its leader. Ensuring organizational flexibility is a process that allows the leader to move from being the central figure in all day-to-day operations to a strategic management role. In other words, the founder removes himself from carrying the weight of all the day-to-day operations and instead focuses on guiding the future of the company, even if they eventually walk away from it. There are many steps to fostering a flexible organization, from documenting all processes and making that knowledge widely accessible to fostering a culture of continuous learning and fostering innovation. Ultimately, this will lead to an organization that can function smoothly even in the absence of its founder.
The result
Although many business leaders feel deeply attached to their organizations, it is important to go beyond that attachment to achieve true success. Sharing your organization’s vision and responsibilities with your team is not a sign of weakness, but of maturity. Leaders must cultivate a culture of shared ownership, and allow themselves time to focus on strategic planning for their organization. If they fail to do so, they will be weighed down by day-to-day operations and become so essential that their company cannot function without them. Follow the strategies we shared in this article to reduce the effects of founder dependency to foster a more flexible organization and gain the freedom to innovate.
