Help Businesses Avoid These Common Operational Mistakes

Most visionaries are not excited by their business operations. 

They started their business to make an impact, innovate, and drive growth, not to manage the day-to-day details.

As the operational leader, it’s your job to ensure the business runs like a well-oiled machine, allowing the founder to stay focused on their big-picture vision.

Your role is critical. You’re the one who makes sure the systems are in place, the team is supported, and operations run smoothly.

But supporting a visionary founder comes with its own set of challenges, especially if they don’t naturally prioritize or understand the importance of operations.

While the founder is the face and driving force of the business, your ability to manage the behind-the-scenes processes directly impacts the company’s success, sustainability, and scalability.

There are 9 common mistakes many founders make with their operations that can hold them back from scaling successfully and sustainably. As their operational leader, can step in to ensure these get addressed so nothing stands in the way of their success.

Common Mistakes Visionary Founders Make with Operations and How You Can Fix Them

Ignoring Operations Until It Becomes an Emergency

Many founders push operations to the side until there’s a problem, which can cause you to have to put out fires.

It’s a reactive, not proactive, approach, typically because their focus is elsewhere.

The side effect is that this leads to inefficiencies, costly mistakes, and missed opportunities for growth.

How You Can Fix It:

Be proactive and build a consistent operational review process.

Work with the founder to schedule regular reviews of systems, processes, and team performance.

By identifying and solving potential issues early, you can prevent small problems from becoming full-blown crises and keep everything running smoothly.

Hiring The Wrong People and Not Investing in Upleveling Their Team

Because operations is not their natural superpower or their passion, founders can make costly hiring mistakes.

They may hire someone more junior or inexperienced to save money and then fail to invest in that person’s growth, assuming they will "figure it out" on their own.

Or they may overspend on someone who is great at marketing themselves but not at being able to deliver at the level the business needs.

As much as founders want operations that will run themselves, everyone needs solid onboarding and less experienced people will need training and mentorship.

How You Can Fix It:

Advocate for the right people in key roles.

Push for the necessary resources, training, and mentorship for the operations team members to ensure they succeed.

Help vet candidates and put systems in place that test for skill and fit in the interview process. 

Help develop a culture of continuous learning and support, and as the operations leader, be the bridge between what the team needs and what the founder provides.

Abdicating Responsibility and It Becomes a Disaster

Some founders mistakenly assume that once they hire an operations manager, they can completely step back from operations.

But without their input, guidance, and accountability, things can spiral into disarray.

How You Can Fix It:

Keep the founder engaged, but not overwhelmed.

Ensure they stay involved at a strategic level by providing regular updates and clear operational metrics.

Help them set the strategic vision for operations, while you take responsibility for executing the day-to-day.

This keeps operations aligned with the founder’s goals without requiring their constant involvement.

Not Approaching Operations Holistically, Leading to Fragmentation

When operations are handled in silos, with different functions or team members disconnected, it leads to inefficiency and miscommunication.

Without a unified approach, people may duplicate efforts or operate without a clear direction.

How You Can Fix It:

Focus on integration. Ensure that systems, teams, and processes are working together toward a common goal.

Implement communication tools and create systems that align with the founder’s broader vision.

By taking a holistic approach, you ensure every aspect of the business is working toward the same objectives.

Underestimating the Importance of Process Documentation

Many founders assume their team can handle operations without clear processes.

This creates inconsistency, confusion, and prevents the business from scaling effectively.

How You Can Fix It:

Take ownership of documenting key processes.

Work with those in each core business function to create clear, repeatable systems for everything from onboarding clients to product or service delivery to daily operations.

This not only ensures consistency but also empowers the team to operate independently, freeing up the founder to focus on growth.

Overcomplicating Operations, Making It Harder to Scale

In response to operational challenges, founders may layer on more tools, systems, or steps without fully understanding the complexity they’re adding.

This makes it harder for the business to function efficiently.

How You Can Fix It:

Prioritize simplicity. Regularly audit and streamline operations, eliminating unnecessary steps and processes.

Help the founder see the value of lean operations by showing them how simplification leads to faster execution and better results.

Not Regularly Updating and Optimizing Systems

Founders often set up operational systems once and forget about them.

But as the business grows, those systems can become outdated, causing inefficiencies and friction.

How You Can Fix It:

Be proactive in optimizing and updating systems. Schedule regular audits of all operational tools and processes to ensure they are still effective.

Explore new features and functions within the tools you use. Integrate AI and better leverage automations.

As the business scales, the systems must scale with it.

Keep the founder informed of any necessary changes and show them how optimized operations can support their growth goals.

Not Aligning Operations with Their Growth Strategy

Founders often focus on sales and marketing growth without considering whether the operational infrastructure is equipped to handle it.

This leads to growing pains and chaos when scaling.

How You Can Fix It:

Work closely with the founder to ensure that operational strategy aligns with the business’s growth goals.

Make sure the systems, team, and processes are ready to support the business’s next stage of success and scale.

If you know the business is about to expand, start planning operational changes ahead of time.

Not Empowering Their People

Visionary founders sometimes fail to develop their team, which results in the founder staying involved in tasks they should delegate.

This creates bottlenecks and limits growth.

How You Can Fix It:

Champion team development. Make it a priority to invest in training and mentoring your team so they can take on more responsibility.

Empower your people to make decisions and own their roles. Encourage the founder to do the same.

This allows the founder to step back and focus on strategic leadership while the team handles the day-to-day.

In Summary

As the right-hand operational leader, your role is to ensure the founder’s vision is supported by an efficient, well-structured business. Operations may not be their passion or superpower, but they are the backbone of the company’s growth and success.

By proactively fixing common operational mistakes, you can free the founder to focus on what they do best: innovating and driving the business forward.

Take ownership of streamlining systems, developing the team, and aligning operations with the company’s growth goals.

When operations run smoothly, the entire business runs smoothly, and that’s where you truly add value as the operational leader.

Your ability to lead operations is what allows the founder to stay in their zone of genius, helping the business reach new levels of success and sustainability.