Leadership | Aug 17

Growing as a leader: put on your oxygen mask first!

Leadership | Aug 17

Why investing in your own development can help you delegate, think strategically, and lead a growing business more effectively

Ian Wylie Journalist, broadcaster, educator

Reading Time 4 minutes

One of the biggest risks facing a growing SME isn’t lack of customers or funding. It’s that the business outgrows its leader. ‘Leadership isn’t about having all the answers,’ says Vicky Haines, Managing Director of Kingsway Care, an award-winning homecare business in Brighton. ‘It’s about continually developing yourself, so the business isn’t limited by your own capability.’

For many founders, investing time and money in their own development can feel like a luxury when customers need serving and day-to-day problems demand attention. Yet putting your own ‘oxygen mask’ on first is one of the best investments you can make in the long-term success of your business.

In this article, we explore the ways in which personal development and business growth go hand in hand.

Grow yourself as the business grows

The leadership skills that help launch a business are rarely the same ones needed to scale it.

Eleanor Shaw is Professor of International Entrepreneurship at the University of Strathclyde and is co-designer of the Growth Advantage Programme (GAP) for ambitious entrepreneurs. She says entrepreneurs who thrive during the uncertainty of a start-up often find growth presents an entirely different challenge. As businesses expand, they need more formal structures, governance, processes, and management systems. ‘The skills needed to establish, sustain, and develop a business are quite different from those needed to grow a business’.

Many founders, she adds, ‘become bored by systems and routines, or simply lack the experience needed to introduce them’. One solution is to invest in leadership development while also recruiting experienced people who can complement the founder’s strengths.

Leadership programmes can play an important role in personal development because they combine practical learning with peer support. Shaw believes cohort-based programmes are particularly valuable because entrepreneurs learn most effectively from one another, while also expanding their professional networks.

Make time to invest in yourself

Haines says she understands why many business leaders postpone their own development.

‘Like many SME leaders, I initially struggled to justify taking time away from the business to invest in myself,’ she says. ‘It became one of the best investments I could have made.’

Haines completed the Help to Grow: Management Course while running the business, committing two sessions each week alongside additional work. Although it initially felt like a significant commitment, she gained a mentor, a trusted peer group, and somewhere to test ideas without creating uncertainty inside her own organisation.

‘Making time for the Help to Grow: Management Course felt difficult at first, but it proved to be one of the best investments I’ve made in my own leadership,’ she says. She also deliberately sought learning opportunities outside her immediate role by attending conferences, completing university modules, and building relationships beyond the care sector. ‘I’ve never worried about being the least knowledgeable person in the room because that’s usually where the greatest learning happens’.

Work in the business… and on it

One of the hardest transitions for growing founders is balancing day-to-day operations with strategic leadership. At Strathclyde, Shaw describes this as ‘ambidextrous leadership’: knowing when to immerse yourself in operational issues and when to step back and think strategically. She encourages entrepreneurs to use time spent working on the business to develop new skills, build relationships, and explore ideas that encourage innovation and creativity.

Haines experienced a similar shift as Kingsway Care expanded. ‘As the business grew, I realised I had to spend less time working in the business and much more time working on it,’ she says. ‘That shift in mindset has probably been the biggest change in my leadership and it’s still not always easy.’ Protecting thinking time is therefore essential. ‘If every minute is spent reacting, you’ll never have the space to improve the business itself’.

Don’t become the bottleneck

Many founders pride themselves on being involved in every important decision. As organisations grow, however, that approach can limit progress. Haines comments ‘One of the biggest risks for any growing business is that the owner becomes the bottleneck’.

Instead, Haines recommends investing heavily in managers and developing capable leaders who can make decisions confidently without constant oversight. ‘If every decision still comes back to you, the business can only grow as far as your own capacity. Coaching someone to achieve the standard you expect takes longer initially, but it pays dividends over time.’

Shaw agrees that founders should recognise when other people possess skills and experience that they don’t. Recruiting talented senior colleagues can provide the expertise needed to support successive stages of business growth.

Never stop learning

Haines says setbacks are opportunities to improve rather than reasons to retreat. ‘I don’t believe in failure in the traditional sense. Every setback is data. Reflect on what happened, understand why it happened, adapt, and move forward. That’s how both businesses and leaders grow.’

She also reminds business owners that growth often demands changing long-established habits. ‘Never assume the systems that worked five years ago are the systems you need today. As your business evolves, your processes, structure, and even your leadership style need to evolve with it.’

For Shaw, learning is strongest when entrepreneurs share experiences with peers facing similar challenges. Facilitated groups, she says, enable business owners to exchange ideas, solve problems together and access practical tools they can immediately apply in their own organisations.

Ian Wylie Journalist, broadcaster, educator

Ian Wylie is a journalist, editor, and broadcaster for the Financial Times, Guardian, BBC, Monocle, and others. For 16 years he was a staff writer, feature writer, and section editor at The Guardian newspaper. He also teaches on Newcastle University’s undergraduate and postgraduate journalism programmes.

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