Role clarity to reduce the founder bottleneck
Business Leader / Solopreneur
In 5 weeks I worked with a growing services business to define clear roles, handovers, and a simple comms cadence. Using a coaching framework (GROW) and practical artefacts (role scorecards, RACI, and ‘writing your own job description’), we reduced decision bottlenecks and freed the founder for leadership work.
Client Type / Sector
Professional Services Firm
Size / Footprint
8 people, founder-led, hiring to scale
Engagement Route
Via national body (subcontracted)
Anonymity
Client name withheld
Timeline
5 weeks total: kickoff + two coaching sessions (with founder), pilot cadence across two weeks, iteration and handover
Context & Challenge
The founder was central to every decision, creating delays and fatigue. Team leads owned pieces of delivery but responsibilities overlapped, handovers varied by person, and weekly meetings drifted. The client wanted clear ownership, faster decisions, and more time for leadership work.
The Approach
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I used short coaching sessions with the founder and key team members to set goals (what success would look like in 8–12 weeks) and surface the current reality.
We mapped where decisions stalled, what “only the founder can do,” and what should be delegated.
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Together we drafted role scorecards for the founder and two key roles. We then ran a lightweight RACI across the core workflow to remove overlap, standardise handovers, and clarify who decides, who does, and who is informed.
We explored options for a weekly cadence that would keep decisions moving without adding meetings.
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We agreed a simple operating rhythm, piloted it for two cycles, and iterated. I added a ‘writing your own job description’ exercise for the founder to define the leadership role they were growing into, and we used it to delegate or delete work that didn’t fit.
Role scorecards for Founder, Delivery Lead, and Ops Coordinator (purpose, outcomes, accountabilities)
RACI + handover points across the client lifecycle (inquiry → scoping → delivery → close-out)
“Job description for yourself” for the founder to anchor delegation and hiring
Decision log + escalation rules so routine questions don’t climb back to the founder
deliverables
Founder time freed: ~3–5 hours per week reclaimed within the first month
Faster decisions: routine approvals handled at the right level; escalations became rare
Cleaner handovers: fewer resets midweek; clearer ownership on client comms and delivery steps
Hiring clarity: the role scorecards and founder JD informed the next hire and onboarding plan
Outcomes
"I’m no longer the default for every decision. The team knows what ‘good’ looks like and I have more time to work on the business.”
— Founder
If your team depends on you for every decision, I can help you define roles, stabilise handovers, and set a weekly rhythm that keeps momentum without adding noise.