When Growth Creates Complexity
Author: Paul Harman, Partner nem Australasia
Last updated: 23 September 2026
Five things that need to change as a privately owned business scales
Growth is usually a sign that a business is doing something right. Customers are responding, revenue is increasing, the team is expanding and new opportunities are emerging.
But growth also creates complexity. As a privately owned business becomes larger, decisions can take longer, communication becomes harder, priorities multiply and too much may still depend on the owner or CEO. The practices that helped build the business may no longer be enough for its next stage.
In my experience, five things usually need to change.
1 The CEO role
In a smaller business, the owner or CEO is often the chief problem-solver, decision-maker, customer relationship manager and final quality check. That involvement can be a great strength. Over time, it can also become a constraint.
The role needs to shift from running everything to building an organisation that can run the business effectively. This means developing capable leaders, delegating genuine authority and becoming more selective about where the CEO’s attention adds the most value.
A useful question is: If the CEO stepped away for four weeks, where would the business struggle? The answer often reveals where capability or accountability still needs to be built.
2 The leadership team
Appointing senior functional managers does not automatically create an effective leadership team. A business can have strong leaders in Sales, Operations, Finance, Marketing and People, yet still operate through functional silos.
An effective leadership team has two jobs: lead its respective functions and lead the business collectively. That requires clear roles and decision making authority, constructive challenge and a willingness to own company-wide outcomes.
3 Strategic focus
Successful businesses tend to accumulate opportunities. New products, markets, customers and ideas all compete for attention and resources. Eventually, the challenge is no longer finding opportunities. It is deciding which ones matter most.
As a business scales, strategy needs to create focus. A clear longer-term direction should translate into a limited number of annual priorities, specific commitments and practical weekly actions. Strategy also requires the discipline to say no, including to worthwhile opportunities that would distract the business from more important commitments.
4 Operating rhythm
Informal communication works surprisingly well when a business is small. People speak frequently, information travels quickly and issues can be resolved as they arise. That becomes less reliable as the organisation adds people, functions and locations.
Execution needs a clear operating rhythm. Important priorities require a defined owner, meaningful measures and regular opportunities to review progress and make decisions. Meetings should help the leadership team resolve issues and maintain accountability, rather than become repetitive status updates. When responsibility is shared too broadly, it is often owned by no one.
5 Deliberate culture
Culture can feel effortless when most employees work closely with the founder. As the organisation grows, employees increasingly experience the culture through their managers and team leaders.
Culture must therefore become a collective leadership responsibility. What leaders consistently model, recognise, challenge and tolerate shapes the organisation far more than the values displayed on a wall. One revealing question is: What behaviour are we tolerating that contradicts the culture we say we want?
The question for the next stage
These are not five unrelated problems. They are five ways in which the same scaling challenge appears across a growing business.
Growth does not simply make a business bigger. It changes what the business needs from its leaders. The question for an owner or CEO is no longer only, “How do we continue to grow?” It is also, “What does this business now need to become to support the growth we want?”
Which of these five shifts is creating the greatest challenge in your business?