One of the most consistent patterns I have observed over fifteen years of coaching entrepreneurs and leadership teams is this: business growth eventually stalls at the point where leadership growth stops. Markets may be tough, competitors aggressive, and external pressures real – but time and again, the biggest constraint to progress is not outside the business, it is inside the leader.
This is why the principles of Compounding Advantage apply just as powerfully to leadership as they do to strategy, operations, or sales. Small, deliberate improvements in how you lead, think, and show up everyday compound over time – and the impact on your business can be extraordinary.
The Leader as the Primary Constraint
In Compounding Advantage, I quote Anderson and Adams:
“We are the primary obstacles to the very future we are committed to creating.”
It’s a confronting statement. And it’s also incredibly liberating.
Because it means that if you are willing to change, your business can change.
Many leaders instinctively look outward when progress stalls – at the market, the team, the economy, or the competition. But the most effective leaders do something different: they look inward first.
They ask:
That level of honest reflection is rare. It is also the gateway to real growth.
“Am I a Tyrant?”
I was reminded of this powerfully when a leader arrived at a coaching session and, after a few minutes of conversation, asked me very directly:
“Be honest with me – am I a tyrant?”
This leader was highly capable, deeply committed to her business and each year her business made exceptional profits in a tough industry. She had built the company through sheer force of will, high standards, and personal drive. It had worked – up to a point.
However, she felt her team was not stepping up and that she needed to work long hours to cover all the bases and ensure the work got done. She wanted an A-team but was continually disappointed that it never materialised. The trigger that led to change was a staff survey. It revealed a high level of staff dissatisfaction, with her style of leadership.
To her credit, she had the self-awareness to ask the hard question.
As we unpacked her leadership style, it became clear that what had once been strength – decisiveness, control, high expectations – had become a constraint. Her team no longer thought for themselves. They waited for instruction. They avoided risk. They played safe.
Her willingness to reflect, to receive feedback, and to change how she led became the turning point – within a year she had a team filled with A-players (most of them the same players she had before who were now empowered to do their best work).
This is leadership compounding in action. One shift, then another, then another. Over time, the impact was profound.
From Hero to Leader
One of the most significant shifts leaders must make is moving from:
“I drive results” → “We drive results.”
This is not easy – especially for founders who built their businesses through personal effort, long hours, and sheer determination.
But sustainable growth does not come from a brilliant individual. It comes from a high-functioning leadership team. One of the leadership traits most strongly correlated with success is Fosters Team Play. In practical terms, that means shifting from doing and directing to coaching and empowering.
Leadership Must Evolve as the Business Evolves
Businesses move through predictable stages: startup, survival, success, scale-up and maturity.
What is often missed is that each stage requires a different version of the leader.
The hands-on, directive style that works in survival becomes a bottleneck in scale-up.
The brilliant problem-solver who carried the business early on can unintentionally prevent others from stepping up later.
In the words of Marshall Goldsmith – “What got you here will not get you there.”
Compounding Advantage Starts With “You, the Leader”
In the Growth Formula at the heart of Compounding Advantage, “You, the Leader” sits at the centre.
Not strategy. Not operations. Not the team. The leader.
Because:
If you want your business to improve quarter by quarter, you must be willing to improve quarter by quarter as a leader.
Deliberate Practice in Leadership
High-performing leaders are not accidental. They are developed.
In Compounding Advantage, I draw on the concept of deliberate practice – focused effort, feedback, repetition and refinement. This applies directly to leadership.
Great leaders don’t just lead – they practise leading.
They reflect after tough conversations.
They review decisions.
They ask for feedback.
They notice patterns in their behaviour.
They adjust.
Leadership mastery, like business mastery, is not a destination. It is a journey.
The Bottom Line
Your business will only grow as far as you are willing to grow.
If you want a stronger team, become a better leader.
If you want better strategy, become clearer in your thinking.
If you want sustainable growth, commit to your own development.
The most powerful application of Compounding Advantage is not in your systems, your strategy, or your structure.
It is in you.