In the early days of a company, taking on multiple hats is often a reality — especially for female founders who are used to making things happen with limited time, resources and support.
One moment you’re talking to a customer, the next you’re sorting invoices, answering emails, managing marketing and solving problems no one else sees. This adaptability is often praised, and rightly so. It reflects resilience, commitment and a willingness to intervene where the company needs it.
However, as the company grows, this flexibility can quietly come into play against Progress.
The momentum is slowing down not because the effort is decreasing, but because the responsibility is being overburdened. Decisions take longer. Tasks return unfinished. Important work waits because everyone assumes that someone else will do it.
The company remains busy, yet it seems harder to achieve results.
These are the hidden costs of taking on too many tasks: If everything belongs to everyone, progress has nowhere to go.
Why shared responsibility feels right – until it doesn’t
In small teams, shared responsibility often feels fair and collaborative. Everyone is involved. Everyone has context. Nobody feels constrained into a narrow role.
The problem arises when the company reaches a point where there is simply too much to manage informally.
When responsibility is shared without clarity:
- Tasks are discussed again and again but not completed
- Decisions are delayed because no one feels entitled to make them
- Problems arise again because ownership was never explicitly stated
- Founders become bottlenecks without realizing it
None of this happens because people are careless. This is because the operating model has not evolved at the same pace as the company.
The difference between participation and ownership
A common misconception in growing companies is that assigning ownership affects collaboration. In practice, the opposite happens.
Ownership does not mean doing everything alone. It means being responsible for progress.
When one person is clearly responsible for an area of work, decisions are made faster, follow-up actions are more consistent, and gaps are identified sooner. Others may continue to contribute, but there is no confusion about who will ensure the work progresses. This clarity is more important than many teams realize.
According to research by OKRs toolTeams that have a single, clearly accountable owner assigned to the most important initiatives achieved 26% better results as teams in which responsibility was divided among several people. The difference wasn’t in effort or ability, but in concentration.
Clear accountability prevents work from stalling and reduces the need for repeated conversations about the same topics. Collaboration becomes more targeted because everyone knows who is ultimately responsible for progress.
How many hats dilute the focus
Carrying multiple hats isn’t just a time issue. It’s a focus problem.
The constant switching between roles fragments attention. Strategic work is interrupted by operational tasks. Important decisions are made reactively and not consciously. Over time, a cycle develops in which the company always reacts and rarely gives instructions.
For founders and managers, this often manifests itself as:
- I feel constantly busy, but I’m not sure what has actually moved the company forward
- I deal with the same topics month after month
- I’m struggling to take a step back without things stalling
The problem is not the ability. It’s a cognitive burden.
No one – no matter how experienced – can concentrate consistently on everything at once.
When growing companies need to change the way they work
There is usually a certain phase where informal ways of working are no longer scalable. It often coincides with:
- Hiring the first few team members
- Attract more clients or customers
- Introduction of new services or products
- Managing more complex operations or partnerships
This is where clarity becomes more valuable than flexibility.
This clarity does not require rigid job descriptions or company levels. It requires consistently answering some practical questions:
- Who is responsible for this area?
- Who makes the final decision?
- Who is responsible for the follow-up?
Without clear answers, even capable teams end up relying on assumptions.
Transitioning from “Everyone Helps” to “Someone Owns”
The transition to clearer ownership can be uncomfortable at first, especially in values-driven or close-knit teams. It may raise concerns about hierarchy or fairness.
In practice it usually has the opposite effect.
Clear ownership structure:
- Reduces friction and repetitive conversations
- Creates trust instead of control
- Frees founders from getting involved in everything
- Helps team members understand where they add the most value
A helpful way to achieve this is to start small. Identify one or two areas where progress feels slow or chaotic. Assign a clear owner, agree on what success looks like, and check back after a few weeks to see how it’s working.
Clarity is not about perfection. It’s about making work easier to move forward.
Let go without losing control
One of the most difficult aspects of growth is letting go of things that were once considered central to the business.
This can feel risky for founders. For small teams, it can feel like a loss of shared responsibility. But holding on to everything often costs more than consciously handing over responsibility.
Letting go does not mean detaching yourself. It means trusting clearer structures to carry out work while leaders focus on leading, supporting and decision-making where it matters most.
A quieter form of progress
As personal responsibility becomes clearer and concentration improves, the change is often subtle but effective.
Meetings are getting shorter. Decisions stick. The work progresses without constant control. People feel more confident in their roles, not because they are doing less, but because they know what they are responsible for.
Growing a company is always associated with complexity. The goal is not to eliminate this complexity, but to organize it in a way that supports progress, not slows it down.
Sometimes the most significant step forward is not putting on another hat, but deciding which ones no longer need to be worn.
