The Bigger The Team, The Lonelier The Job

Hello and welcome to Episode 334 of The People Powered Business Podcast.

You built a team so you'd have back-up. So why does it feel like the bigger that team gets, the fewer people you've actually got to talk to?

I keep hearing versions of this from the business owners I work with: they've grown a team, they're doing well by every outside measure, and yet somewhere along the way they started feeling more isolated, not less. Nobody warned them this would happen, and most of them assumed it was just them.

After 20 years of watching business owners build teams, I can tell you it isn't. It's part of the job.

In this episode I unpack why growing a team and feeling lonelier as the boss happen at exactly the same rate, and why that's actually a sign you're doing something right, not wrong. I talk about why your team, no matter how great they are, can't be the ones you offload your hardest decisions onto, and why the same self-reliance that got your business off the ground might now be the thing keeping you isolated. Then I get into what genuinely helps, because staying lonely isn't the only option.

In this episode we cover:

• Why growing your team and feeling more isolated happen at the same rate, and why that's normal
• Why nobody warns you about this (hint: it looks like success from the outside)
• Why your team can't be your sounding board for the big decisions, even the ones you trust most
• How the instinct that built your business might be the same one keeping you isolated as it grows
• What actually helps when you're feeling like you've got no one to talk to

Links & Resources:

💬 DM Kristy-Lee on Instagram @kristy.lee.billett

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristyleebillett/ 

Email me at [email protected] 

Book a 15-minute clarity call: https://calendly.com/kristyleebillett/chat 

What this episode covers

This episode explains why business owners tend to feel more isolated as their team grows, even as the business becomes more successful. It's for anyone managing a team who has started to feel like there's no one left to talk to about the harder calls, and it breaks down why that isolation happens and what to do about it.

Key insight from this episode

Growing a team and feeling lonelier as the boss happen at the same rate, and that isn't a personal failing. It's a normal, predictable part of running a business, largely because it looks like success from the outside, so nobody thinks to warn you about it.

What you'll take away

• Understanding why more staff means more decisions and more responsibility, not less
• Recognising why team members, even trusted ones, can't be a confidant for business decisions that affect their own employment
• Identifying whether self-reliance, the instinct that built the business, is now driving isolation instead of solving it
• Knowing the difference between a normal part of leadership and a problem that needs outside support
• Clarity on what kind of external support actually closes the gap, rather than adding another task to the list