Yet pricing questions, client exceptions, small purchases, and schedule changes still come back to you.
It can look like a staffing problem. Often it is a decision problem.
The team has work. The founder still has authority.
The tool: The Approval Audit
For one week, record every request that asks you to approve, decide, confirm, review, or “bless” something.
At the end of the week, sort each request into four groups.
1. Only I should decide
Keep decisions that truly belong to the founder: major strategy, ownership, unusual legal risk, large capital commitments, or a relationship only you can protect.
Be strict. “I prefer to decide” is not the same as “Only I should decide.”
2. Someone needs training
The person could decide after seeing how good judgment works.
Write down:
- the information they need;
- the risks to watch;
- two examples;
- and when you will review their first decisions.
3. The business needs a rule
The same choice appears often enough to become a standard.
A useful rule names:
- who decides;
- the limit;
- the information they must check;
- and when to escalate.
4. Someone already owns it
The role has authority, but habit still sends the question to you.
Return the decision calmly. Ask the owner to decide and tell you what they chose. Do not quietly take it back.
Now count the requests in each group.
If most requests fall into groups 2, 3, or 4, the founder is carrying decisions the company can learn to own.
That load has a cost. Work waits. People stop practising judgment. The founder becomes the slowest step in a business full of capable people.
Delegation is not giving someone a task and keeping every meaningful choice. Real delegation includes decision rights.
Esther’s daily anchor for this dimension is: I will design decisions, not collect approvals.
At first, returning a decision may feel slower than answering it. That is normal. You are replacing a fast personal answer with judgment the company can keep. The first few decisions may need coaching. The goal is not instant perfection. The goal is to stop making founder approval the permanent safety system.
What to do with the result
Move one repeated approval out of your hands this week. Name the owner, the limit, and the condition that brings it back to you.
Stop carrying buckets. Build irrigation.