Early on, I made a mistake I watch a lot of founders make. I gave someone on my team too many different types of responsibilities.
I was under water, they seemed capable, and I told myself it was an opportunity for them to grow.
What I didn't think about was that when someone's spread across too many areas, you lose the ability to see where they need help if things aren’t going well.
Everything they did ended up being a little off. They weren’t catastrophic mistakes, but there were lots of little things missed, revisions needed, and standards I thought were clear weren’t being followed.
And because they were playing like 5 different roles, I couldn’t tell what was actually going on. Was it a skill gap? A guidance gap? Something else entirely? I had no idea where to start.
Then I narrowed their focus and gave them fewer areas to own. I could FINALLY see what was going on.
The most important role they were playing had been buried under a pile of other responsibilities that kept pulling them away from the core of their work. And I couldn’t give useful feedback on how to improve their most impactful work until I uncovered that.
The title I gave them might’ve looked lesser than the one they had before. That change can feel like a demotion, but I don’t see it that way.
I see it as the most supportive thing you can do for someone.
Give people room to go deep on the stuff that matters most for their role instead of expecting that and ten other things to be done to the same standard.
The founder tendency is to keep adding. Because there's always more to do. And we get tired. So we’ll give things to whoever will say yes.
And someone who is capable and dedicated to the thing you’re building will usually say yes because they want to be useful. But being useful to you and getting better at their job aren't always the same thing.
So if you've got someone who feels stretched thin and still isn't quite hitting the mark, I'd gently push back on the first explanation that comes to mind.
It might not be that they lack motivation. It might not even be their lack of skills. It could be a focus problem. And that one's on us, as the leaders.
Give people fewer things to own. Let them get really good at those. Then expand.
Who on your team is stretched so thin you can’t actually tell where they’re struggling?
- Valentina
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"Essentialism" — Greg McKeown (Book). McKeown calls it the disciplined pursuit of less, and the book literally opens with the question this issue is about: have you ever found yourself stretched too thin? His case is that giving someone fewer things to own isn't taking something away, it's how they get to make their highest contribution. Required reading if you tend to pile responsibilities on your most capable people.
EOS Accountability Chart — EOS Worldwide (Article). If "too many hats" is the diagnosis, this is the tool. EOS gives each seat about five clear accountabilities with one accountable owner, so you can actually see when someone's carrying too much (or carrying things that were never theirs). You already live in EOS with clients, so this one's right in your lane.
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