Many founders recognise this pattern.
Last month everything ran smoothly, now every decision feels slow.
More meetings, unclear responsibilities, rising frustration.
It often looks like the team is “slowing down,” but that is not the real issue.
The team has grown, but the way of working has not.
What worked with 8 people no longer works with 18.
The Transition Where Most Teams Get Stuck
Growing teams almost always hit the same signals:
❌ Decisions take longer
❌ No one is fully sure who owns what
❌ New hires struggle to find their place
❌ Meetings pile up
❌ Leaders get pulled into everything
Not because people do not want to work hard.
But because phase 1 habits stay in place in phase 2.
In small teams, information flows naturally.
In bigger teams, it does not.
That creates confusion, delay and dependency.
Why This Feels So Frustrating
Leaders often think the team is less motivated or moving slower.
But that is not the problem.
The issue is structure.
If roles, agreements and decision-making do not grow with the team, noise enters the system.
And noise kills speed.
How to Get the Team Moving Again
1. Make responsibilities crystal clear
Who decides what? What belongs to whom?
2. Build a simple communication structure
A weekly team meeting, a monthly update, one internal channel.
Not more. Just clear.
3. Leaders need to let go
As long as everything flows through you, the team stays dependent.
4. Strengthen onboarding
New hires need clarity within two weeks.
Once teams make this transition, something important shifts:
Speed returns.
Energy returns.
And leaders finally get space back to lead.
