3 Reasons Founders Shouldn’t Jump Into Every Crisis

For startup founders, it sometimes feels like every day brings a new challenge or problem to solve. There is some bump in the road or micro-crisis that pops up and needs to be handled. They’re not always major issues, but they still need some attention.

Whenever a micro-crisis hits, the founder or CEO is typically there to step in and take the reins. On the surface, this makes sense. The founder is ultimately responsible for the success of the startup they created, so it’s only natural they would want to be a part of solving every little issue.

However, even if this may seem natural for founders, this isn’t always the best approach. The founder insisting on being a part of solving every little problem will inevitably lead to a lot of micro-managing. As a result, the founder becomes too hands-on, losing the ability to delegate.

Founders may not recognize the inadvertent harm they are doing by stepping into every micro-crisis and trying to solve the problem themselves. Believe it or not, there are consequences when founders and CEOs insist on doing everything themselves and fail to sit back and delegate when a minor issue arises.

First, this approach teaches people to wait. If the founder wants to do everything, it encourages the bad habit of waiting amongst the staff. Crisis or not, you never want people sitting on their hands and waiting. This means nobody is taking the initiative. Instead, they are just sitting back and waiting for orders from the founder, which is not a habit you want employees to develop.

Second, with this approach, one micro-crisis will inevitably lead to others. If fewer people are being proactive, it’s a safe bet that things aren’t being managed properly. It also means nothing is being done to prevent a similar issue from happening because the founder has stepped in to solve the problem but not fix the underlying issue. If the founder always steps in, employees won’t be equipped to think ahead and prevent another problem.

Finally, it’s impossible to scale a business if the founder can’t learn to delegate during a micro-crisis. Unless it’s super early in the lifestage of a startup, founders won’t be able to do everything on their own. If a business can’t get past a slight bump in the road without the founder getting involved, it’ll be impossible to reach unicorn status. At some point, the founder has to trust their team.

Of course, if there is a major crisis, the founder needs to get involved. But with the types of issues that pop up every day, it’s critical to delegate. Founders can look at this as an opportunity to see how their team handles a problem and assess their capabilities. If the problem becomes too big, employees will come to you. Otherwise, everyday problems that pop up should be delegated. In the end, you might learn a lot about your startup that will ultimately help you grow.

As a coach and mentor to over 50 startups and founding teams, Roland Siebelink has seen it all and knows how to guide founders to their next big breakthrough.

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