The Best Leaders are Replaceable

Your job as a leader isn't to be needed for everything. It's to be valuable for the things that actually matter.

The best leaders I know are also the most replaceable.

Sounds backwards, right?

But here's what I've learned after 25 years of business, coaching, and working with athletes, CEOs and founders who actually scale and succeed without losing their minds.

If your business can't run without you micromanaging every single decision, checking every email, approving every expense - you don't own a business. You own a very expensive, very stressful job that you can never quit.

I had a client who came to me a few months ago via a referral with a real SOS moment. Brilliant founder, $10M+ company - who hadn't taken a real day off in 3+ years. Not one. His team was waiting for his approval on everything from office supplies to major deals. He also never felt like he could actually relax. He was spent. Spark gone. Battery flat. Done.

But there was a huge connection to what he had built, great business and his family were also really important to him.

Something had to change. We went and got what I call '101 and military' about the foundations. Taking LARGE and vast amounts of information that he'd kept 'stored in his head' and aspects of the business that worked in silos, and did a full pit stop. Or what I called a RECCE.

"In the military, "recce" (short for reconnaissance) refers to the act of exploring an area to gather information about enemy forces, terrain, and other relevant details. It's a crucial intelligence-gathering function that helps inform strategic decisions and tactical planning.." I love a good recce!

Once we got the scope and info out - and did some basics on a massive whiteboard - we spent 9 weeks building systems and teaching his team to make decisions.

Foundation 1: no skipping steps. No wasted information. No duplicate files.

Foundation 2: Then 3 weeks of testing, troubleshooting, and keeping the comms VERY simple.

IT WAS A MISSION. It was worth every single cent in time, money, and energy.

Foundation 3: Then I made him take a 2-week vacation. Proper vacation. Phone off, laptop at home.

Their revenue actually went UP while he was gone. What's very cool as his long-term team had the tools to just focus on the work at hand and use the processes in place. We saw some real gems in people being happier in their role because they had focus and a runway.

Less reactive. Yes, a little strange to follow a bit of a protocol, but it worked like a charm.

Nothing was set on fire, and minor emergencies were dealt with well—all due to taking the time to look at what best practice for him meant and how that translates for the people in and around the business.

That's what happens when you stop being the bottleneck in your own success. the issue is the idea of stripping it all back and putting your SOP and knowledge bank in place can seem like opening pandora's box. The cost of NOT doing it is far worse.

We love clarity in our team, so that's why now, with a little extra help from AI, we can help our clients actually get their master SOP and operational know-how flowed into something useful.

It's empowering when done right. It must be done step by step and with an end outcome in mind. A bit like building a dream home. What do you want it to look like then work back to create the meticulous plans from there.

Your job as a leader isn't to be needed for everything. It's to be valuable for the things that actually matter. Strategy. Vision. Culture. The big picture stuff.

Let your team handle the rest. Trust me, they're more capable than you think.

Do a quick audit of yourself and your best staff: Here's 5 q's:

1) Are the core decision-making aspects clearly visible to others if a job was running on a project format (yes, over and above gut instinct) and the key contact person was not around?

2) Does each person in their role know WHAT it is they need to be doing daily to deliver and WHY doing their job well is an important part of the puzzle?

3) If one of your core team members were away, would someone else be able to pick up that job, contact a key stakeholder, client, or internal or external workflow point, and keep that project running on point and as per the brief? Is there any emergency quick area of reference?

4) Are you afraid if you don't check everything stuff goes wrong?

Lastly: 5) What decision are you making today that someone else could handle 80% as well?

We read so much about sustainable success, no burnout, and a business you can scale, grow, and create freedom from. HOWEVER, I truly don't see that needle shifting enough.

So: Unless you're one of those unicorn startups and it all goes faster and easier than most, it will require a strategy for you to think like a CEO and plan like a visionary*.

• Do the safety check - are you the bottleneck for your business and your happiness?
• If so, make the time to sit down and look at what it could be you could automate, upskill, share, and delegate. We are all stronger together.

Please reach out if you want help doing this. We are experts at taking large amounts of information and placing it into tangible blueprints for real success.

Now with our incredible tools we all have with AI, do this with data protection and with good guardrails, and you should be getting at least 10 hours + min back a week to remember what life was actually about. Removing overwhelm. Making the foundations solid to build on.

Hope this helps remind you not to keep pushing through your weeks and months, but regroup as required.

Let me know in the comments below.
Nikki

PS: Side note I spent a day on the Hawaii Marine Corps base with different battalions and it was a game changer - deeply humbling experience. I will need to write about that again another time but - you can spot me a mile off (did not get the 'utes and boots' memo).

Marine Corps Hawaii Base 1st Battalion - Super Inspiring and Very Brave

Think Like A CEO, Plan Like A Visionary and Act Like A Buddha is From FITPRENEUR and one of our most important mantras. Get clear, have the space to think big, stay grounded.

About: Nikki Fogden-Moore | The Mojo Maker®

Award-winning performance coach and founder helping visionary leaders thrive at the top without losing themselves. Creator of the Boardroom Retreat®, Winning Weeks® Leadership Mojo© and the new SuperLeaders methodology, and ClaraLuna AI. Author of VITALITY, Fitpreneur, and Radical Self Belief.

My mission: ensuring the world's wealth is handled by good people.

Connect with Nikki on [email protected]. www.nikkifogdenmoore.com

Next Boardroom Retreat dates 25-27 July 2025 NOOSA HEADS.