The #1 Mistake Keeping Your Business Stuck – and How to Fix It
"Leadership isn’t about working harder-it’s about steering smarter."
DAVID QUICK
Let’s cut to the chase: Are you running your business, or is it running you?
You didn’t step into this role to get bogged down in the chaos-juggling endless tasks, solving every problem, and firefighting your way through each day. Yet here you are, caught in the grind. If this hits close to home, it’s likely you’re making the #1 mistake holding most businesses back: managing instead of leading.
Your business doesn’t need another manager. It needs a leader.
The Real Problem: Management Overload
Let’s face it-running a business is demanding. But if your calendar is packed with decisions, crises, and operational details, you’ve fallen into the management trap. You’re on the hamster wheel, too busy reacting to move the business forward.
If you’re micromanaging, putting out fires, or overburdened with tasks that don’t need your expertise, you’re not leading. You’re surviving. And survival mode doesn’t scale – it stalls.
The truth: You’ve become the bottleneck in your own business.
Signs You’re Stuck in Management Mode
Before you write this off as “part of the job,” take a hard look. Here’s how to know if you’re stuck managing instead of leading:
- You’re the Fixer: Every issue ends up on your desk. Your team relies on you for answers instead of finding their own.
- Your Team Is Over-Dependent: If things grind to a halt when you’re not around, you haven’t empowered your people.
- You’re in the Weeds: Your days are packed with tasks that maintain the business, not grow it.
- You’re Burned Out: Constant problem-solving isn’t just exhausting, it’s holding your business back.
These are more than annoyances. They’re signals that your business is over-reliant on you-and it’s keeping you from scaling.
Why This Mistake Costs You Growth
Here’s the hard truth: Managers solve problems, but leaders drive growth. If you stay in the weeds, growth will always be limited by your capacity to keep up. Leadership isn’t about working harder-it’s about steering smarter.
Your role isn’t to fix everything. It’s to set the vision, create systems, and build a culture of accountability that allows your team to thrive without you micromanaging. If you’re not making this shift, you’re the reason your business is stuck.
Three Steps to Break Free and Lead Like a Bull
1. Stop Being the “Fixer”
A leader builds systems, not dependencies. If every issue comes to you, you’re creating a culture where your team relies on you instead of owning their responsibilities.
How to fix it:
- Set clear expectations and empower your team to deliver results.
- Let them solve problems, even if mistakes happen.
- Build accountability. Hold them to standards and let them rise, or re-evaluate who’s on your team.
2. Delegate Like You Mean It
Delegation isn’t about dumping tasks; it’s about freeing your time for what truly matters. Start handing off what doesn’t require your unique expertise.
How to fix it:
- Identify time-sucking tasks and strategically offload them.
- Empower your team to own their decisions. Stop micromanaging.
- Use feedback loops to stay informed without taking over.
Delegating effectively isn’t just about you. It’s about developing a team that can lead alongside you.
3. Make Time for Big-Picture Strategy
As a CEO, your job is to lead with vision and strategy-not emails and daily operations. Carve out non-negotiable time to focus on the future.
How to fix it:
- Block “CEO time” every week for strategic thinking.
- Use this time to plan long-term goals, assess growth opportunities, and refine your vision.
- Protect this time. No interruptions.
Leadership isn’t reactive. It’s proactive. Invest in strategy to guide your business forward.
The Bottom Line: Lead Boldly
The biggest obstacle to your business’s growth is you – not because you’re not capable, but because you’re too capable. You’re holding the reins too tightly. Real growth happens when you stop doing and start leading.
Ready to Take the Lead?
If you’re tired of being stuck in the grind, it’s time to make a change. At Helping Bulls, we cut through the chaos to help CEOs like you step into true leadership. Let’s break the cycle, ditch the management mindset, and get you back to driving growth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Quick is a “recovering bull in the china shop” who uses his passion to help business leaders and their teams thrive. A 3-time CEO of rapid growth organizations, David helps leaders thrive by sharpening their focus on People, Purpose, Playbook, Performance.
If I Felt Overwhelmed…
"Without a daily rhythm, busy teams often confuse motion for progress. The huddle brings focus back to real movement."
RYAN GILES
In business, chaos doesn’t send an invitation. It just shows up.
Sometimes it’s a natural disaster. Sometimes it’s a major team member quitting. Sometimes it’s simply the grind of too much work and not enough time.
If I were overwhelmed — or if disaster struck — here’s the very first thing I would do:
Start a daily huddle.
Another meeting? Yes! It’s one of the simplest tools in leadership, but one of the most powerful.
Here’s why:
1. Alignment Beats Chaos
When pressure mounts, communication usually breaks down. People get reactive. Silos form. Small problems fester into big ones.
A daily huddle — 10 to 15 minutes, every morning — brings everyone back into alignment.
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What’s the focus today?
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What’s stuck?
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Where do we need help?
One short meeting keeps everyone rowing in the same direction — even when the waters get rough.
2. Speed Wins
When you’re busy or under stress, speed matters.
A daily huddle accelerates decision-making and removes bottlenecks early in the day — before they snowball into real issues.
It’s the difference between being in control versus being stuck in damage control.
3. It Forces Clarity
In a crisis, everyone needs clear priorities.
The discipline of standing together each morning forces leadership and teams to answer basic but critical questions:
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What matters most today?
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What must get done, no matter what?
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What can wait?
Without a daily rhythm, busy teams often confuse motion for progress. The huddle brings focus back to real movement.
4. It Builds Culture and Confidence
In tough times, people don’t just need tasks — they need connection.
Seeing your team daily, even briefly, builds a sense of shared mission.
It shows that leadership is present, focused, and committed. It creates a small daily win — a habit of gathering, communicating, and conquering together.
What a Good Daily Huddle Looks Like
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Short and sharp (10-15 minutes max)
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Same time every day
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Simple structure:
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Wins from yesterday
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Priorities for today
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Roadblocks or asks for help
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Stand up if possible — it keeps energy up and discourages rambling
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Strong Leader (quarterback) — to keep the meeting short (and on-track)
The Bottom Line
When business gets crazy — whether from growth, disaster, or just everyday pressure — you don’t need complicated strategies.
You need clarity, connection, and cadence.
The daily huddle gives you all three.
If I were overwhelmed, that’s exactly where I would start.
(And honestly? Even if you’re not overwhelmed, you should probably start it anyway.)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Known as the “Process Guy,” Ryan Giles has helped hundreds of business leaders build their processes, improve their profits, grow their people, and find their purpose.
Why Business Operating Systems Don’t Work…and How to Make Sure Yours Actually Does
"Without collective buy-in, even the best framework feels like an annoying layer, not a performance multiplier."
ANTHONY MACLEOD
Let’s be honest: too many times a visionary rolls out a business operating system and it falls flat.
Not necessarily because the systems don’t work — but because the teams using them aren’t ready, aren’t aligned, or aren’t supported the right way.
Over the years, I’ve lived this on both sides. As a founder trying to scale a fast-growing company, I experienced the pain of people problems, misfiring meetings, and the challenges of turning my ideas and vision into a reality. I’ve also seen teams light up and accelerate their growth once they had the right operating system and the right Guide.
So let’s talk about why business operating systems fail — and what you can do to avoid becoming another “we tried that, it didn’t work” story.
5 Reasons Business Operating Systems Fail
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The Team Isn’t Bought In.
You can’t drag a team up the mountain and expect to reach the summit. If the leadership team is skeptical, disengaged, or just going through the motions, no operating system will truly stick. A system like Pinnacle only works when the team believes in the vision, embraces the tools, and commits to doing the work together. Without collective buy-in, even the best framework feels like an annoying layer, not a performance multiplier.
How to overcome this: Start with why. Help your team see how a business operating system can bring your vision to life, reduce fires, and eliminate friction — not add work, but unlock momentum. Make sure you have the right climbers on the team for the journey ahead.
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There’s No Desire to Learn and Grow.
A business operating system is a tool for growth…not just for the company, but for the people in it. If the team resists feedback, avoids accountability, or doesn’t want to stretch into new ways of thinking and leading, then a system will feel threatening instead of empowering. The most powerful systems reward learners. If a team isn’t curious or coachable, the best you’ll get is compliance, not transformation.
How to overcome this: Nurture and reward a culture of learning and growth. Reinforce curiosity, candor, and coaching. Look for opportunities where you need to “level up” team members in order to reach a higher level of growth.
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It’s Utilized Inconsistently or is Missing Crucial Components.
You can’t cherry-pick your way to making a system work well. Skipping weekly meetings, setting vague Rocks, or leaving vision work half-baked turns the system into a false promise. What starts with energy fizzles into frustration. Whether it’s EOS, Scaling Up, or Pinnacle, the impact comes from commitment and consistency. When teams pick and choose what’s comfortable, they can miss the breakthrough moments that only come from doing the whole work.
How to overcome this: Commit to utilizing each component of the system as deep into the organization as possible. Have an internal champion on the team who leans into holding the team accountable to consistent usage of the system, keeps the cadence, and reminds the team why the climb matters.
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It’s Not Fun or Flexible.
If it’s not fun, people quit. And if it’s not flexible, it breaks. Too many operating systems feel like a corporate straightjacket: too rigid, too repetitive, too soul-sucking. That’s where Pinnacle is different. We believe fun can be a competitive advantage. A system should energize your team, not exhaust them. It should adapt to your climb, not force you into someone else’s template.
How to overcome this: Make it YOUR operating system. Customize it to be authentic to you, your team, and your vision for the company. Find ways to make it fun!
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It’s Missing a Guide.
I’ve seen too many visionaries set out to go it alone. They read a book and then try to be the player, the coach, and everything in between. I know because that’s what I did at first too! After a few sessions where I was still learning the book and trying to wear multiple hats….CEO, participant, coach, business owners, etc., I made the decision to hire a Guide. Doing so helped me focus on being a participant on the same side of the table as my team, have my assumptions and blind spots challenged, and bring true expertise to the process of building our system.
How to overcome this: Find a Guide who has experience using the system to build a business, understands how to take a concept and apply it in the “real” world, and can push you and your team to grow.
Why Does Pinnacle Work Where Others Don’t?
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It’s designed to be fun, flexible, and customized to your company and team. We bring the right tool at the right moment to help you on your climb.
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You are paired with a Guide who is an expert in their craft, has been in your shoes, and knows how to apply concepts and tools within the real world.
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It is designed to help you focus on what matters. To break through ceilings to reach your Higher Peak.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anthony Macleod runs Higher Peak Business Coaching, where he helps his clients grow faster, build enterprise value, and have fun doing it.
