We have scaled rapidly and need to build a true leadership team, but all my current managers are just promoted doers who lack executive presence and strategic thinking. Should I build them up or hire a completely fresh team from the outside?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Scaling a business requires a fundamental shift from a team of high-performing doers to a team of true leaders. When you promote your best technicians to the leadership team, they often bring their hands-on habits with them, resulting in a team that manages tasks rather than driving strategy.

To transition this group, you must first assess their natural strengths. Use the Kolbe A™ Index to understand their conative profiles. High-performing doers often have high Implementor or high Follow Thru scores, meaning they excel at execution and physical tasks. True leadership seats, however, require strategic thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to delegate.

Implement the EOS® framework to teach them how to lead. Use the Leadership, Management, and Accountability tool to define what successful leadership looks like. They must learn to step out of the daily operations and spend time working on the business, not just in it.

If after systematic training and coaching, a team member still struggles to think strategically or delegates poorly, you must face reality. Some people are spectacular individual contributors who simply do not want or have the capacity to manage others.

Do not hesitate to recruit external talent if your internal team cannot make the leap. To prepare for an exit or to scale, you need a leadership team that can solve complex, systemic issues without you. If you keep holding onto doers, you will remain trapped as the primary operator.