Most people think that when a founder becomes the bottleneck, they don’t realise it. That has never matched what I’ve seen. Every founder I’ve worked with knew exactly when they were the bottleneck. They knew and they felt it. They felt guilty for slowing people down. They made themselves available earlier, later, wherever they could squeeze themselves in - not because they wanted to, but because they didn’t want anyone waiting on them. I’ve seen it. And I’ve lived it. When I stepped into an agency where the founders were preparing to exit, the team’s foundations were thin. The systems weren’t there. The clarity wasn’t there. Everyone cared, but no one shared the same understanding of what “good” looked like. So every decision came back to me. I used to answer questions on my journey in on the bus. Being constantly available was never the solution - It was a stop-gap. The real issue was the lack of guardrails, standards and structure beneath everything. The team wasn’t checking in because they lacked initiative. They were checking in because the business relied on my brain. Once the foundations were built and people had the clarity they deserved, the pressure lifted. Questions reduced. Decisions sped up. The team moved independently. And I got to read on the bus again - those quiet minutes that remind you who you are before the day begins. No more answering questions just me and my book, anonymously on the bus with the morning routines of fellow Londoners on the streets outside. If this feels familiar, it’s rarely a sign you need to be more available. It’s usually a sign the business needs clearer foundations so people can move without you.