If it feels easier to "just do it yourself" instead of explaining it for the tenth time, you’re NOT bad at hiring.

And you'll never know if you are bad at hiring until you escape the Brilliance Trap. When everything lives in your head and your process isn’t clear, your team relies on you for everything.

Read Eric’s story to see how he built a system that let his team handle the work without making his work feel generic.

The Flamingo Spotlight: When Brilliance Becomes a Bottleneck

Eric prided himself on being different. On delivering custom solutions that felt tailored just for his clients. No plug-and-play strategies. No cookie-cutter strategies. No one-size-fits-all templates.

Eric was the brain, the strategist, the creative force - and he did everything on the fly. He could walk into a room and deliver exactly what his clients needed - without notes, without prep, without breaking a sweat.

And that’s exactly why he was drowning. His business couldn’t run without him.

Eric’s team was growing, but somehow, instead of freeing him up, it felt like he was working harder.

He couldn’t hand things off because every client was different. His assistant kept asking for workflows, but how could he document something that lived in his head?

He couldn’t delegate tasks without spending twice as long explaining how to do them. And worse? His team kept asking for clarity on things Eric assumed were obvious.

And when he did “delegate”? Things fell apart. Clients complained that the experience wasn’t the same. His team circled back with questions, needing him to review and approve things that only he could do.

Because he was the business. And the worst part? He was so tired.

His knowledge. His instincts. His ability to adapt in real time. It was his superpower. Until it became his prison.

The very thing he loved - delivering top-tier results - was now the thing burning him out and holding him back. There was no way to scale the business, step back from it or even sell it, if he wanted to.

The Flamingo Fix: From Brilliant Bottleneck to Brilliant Business Owner

One night, after a frustrating team meeting where nothing seemed to move forward without his input, Eric met up with Freida, his mentor.

“I feel like I’m stuck,” he admitted. “I know I need to get out of the day-to-day, but I can’t create a system for what I do. It’s customized - tailored to each client. That’s why they hire me. You can’t turn that into a checklist.”

Freida took a sip of her coffee.

“You think scaling means turning your service into a factory line, don’t you?”

Eric shrugged.

She leaned in. “You’re right - your service is unique. But you’re making two mistakes here.

Number 1: You’re confusing ‘customized’ with ‘chaotic’. You’re treating every project like it’s the first time you’ve ever done it. That’s not brilliance - that’s burnout.”

Number 2: You’re confusing ‘structure’ with ‘stiffness’. What if I told you the right system wouldn’t box you in - it would actually protect your genius?”

Eric frowned. “How?”

🦩 STEP 1: Turning Chaos into a Method that Protects His Genius

Freida grabbed a napkin and started sketching.

“Look, every service has a repeatable structure, even if the details are tailored. Think of your process like a project management framework. You don’t have to follow the exact same steps each time, but you can create a client fulfillment structure that makes your service scalable.”

She wrote down four phases:

✅ Initiating – This is where preboarding and onboarding takes place. You get to: 1) understand client needs and goals more than you did during the sales process, 2) set expectations about the high-level path you’re taking, 3) prep your team and clients to work with each other 4) collect client information that you need to plan

✅ Planning – This is where you craft a plan that meets your client’s goals and aligns with the core actions you take in every engagement. You get everyone on the same page. You give yourself, team and clients a chance to plan, collate and submit the things needed to make the engagement a success. It makes no sense to leave the train station without the things you need to make the train ride a success.

✅ Executing – This is where you implement the plan. You’re delivering the customized strategy plus you’re tracking progress and adjusting as needed.

✅ Closing – This is where you close out the engagement for your clients and team. You off-board clients, hand over client files, update your client archives and uncover lessons learned. You can even upsell your clients into other offers and ask for referrals and testimonials.

“Inside these phases,” Freida said, “you can build templates, resources, and checkpoints—so your team handles the repeatable stuff, and you step in where your brilliance is actually needed.”

Eric’s eyes narrowed. “But won’t that make my process feel… generic?”

Freida laughed.

“No. It makes it consistent. You’re already doing your process on the fly, over and over. Right now, every client gets something different because you’re making it up as you go. A strong framework lets you give every client your best work, every single time. It also lets your team handle the foundational work - so you only step in where you’re needed.”

🦩 STEP 2: Protecting His Genius with a People-Centered System

“I never knew this was possible. I feel like I can breathe again, just listening to you talk about streamlining my method. I’d love to hire you to help me do this in my business.”

“Let’s do it!”

Over the course of two weeks, Freida and Eric narrowed in on the tangible outcome that Eric delivered to clients that enabled them to get the results he offered. Eric ran an accounting firm that helped companies keep their records updated so they could make proactive financial decisions. Every month his outcome was to deliver reconciled balance sheets and profit and loss statements.

Once the outcome was clear, Freida worked with Eric to break down his client fulfillment process into traditional project management process groups.

They considered three groups of people in their process, accounting for all the necessary steps and resources it took to get the outcome. This included:

• The Work Eric and His Team Did (the prep, strategy, expertise, templates & timelines that created results)

• The Work His Clients Did (their tasks, decision points, etc. that it took to get results)

Their effort went beyond documenting Eric’s process. Freida’s goal was to make Eric’s process efficient and effective for him, his team, and his clients without constantly needing Eric’s presence. They factored in every resource, activity, capability, skill requirement, etc. that each of those groups needed to get to success.

By the time they finished, they created a client fulfillment system that lets Eric’s team handle the foundational work - so he only steps in where he’s needed.

Eric’s business was now positioned so projects could move forward without him being the bottleneck or reinventing the wheel every time.

🦩 STEP 3: Multiplying His Genius

As they wrapped up that portion of the engagement, Eric contemplated his options, “I want to be independently wealthy in five years. Maybe I can make this business sellable by automating these workflows and hiring experts to do what I do."

Freida smiled to herself. There it is. That's the talk of someone who was dreaming and seeing possibilities again.

🦩The Ripple Effect: Freedom to Focus on What Matters Most

Within a few months, Eric met with Freida for lunch. He excitedly shared some of the wildness that had been happening:

His team actually felt empowered because they weren’t constantly guessing at what he wanted. His team stopped relying on him for the basics, which meant Eric could focus on his magic—the high-level insights, strategy, and client relationships he loved most. He finally had the headspace to just run his business.

Clients got better results because they weren’t waiting on him to move things forward.

And for the first time in years, Eric took a full week off - and his business kept running.

And when an investor asked if he’d ever thought about selling, Eric finally had a real answer.

Because now? He actually could. The brilliant bottleneck had transformed into a brilliant business owner.

💡 Need a Fix?

Pink flamingoes don’t wing it when it comes to survival. They migrate with precision, build their nests strategically, and move in sync to protect their flock. Your business should work the same way.

If everything lives in your head, your team will always be waiting on you to take flight. But when you create a structured, people-centered system, your business can offer customization and scalability - even when you step back.

If you’re ready to stop being the bottleneck and start leading like a true flamingo, let’s talk about we can design your business to soar—with or without you. Book a curiosity call here.

P.S.: Here are other ways we can help.

OPTION 1: Join CEO Like A CEO - our high-touch mentorship for growing CEOs and leaders. Step out of the weeds, scale smarter and lead stronger with structure, strategy, and sanity backed by human-centered business optimization tactics and data-driven decision-making.

OPTION 2: Invite us to speak or do a business workshop/training. Drop us an email.

OPTION 3: Grab the "How to Train Your Clients" Workshop. Just $99 to learn how to set rock-solid boundaries (and get clients to actually respect them).

OPTION 4: Subscribe to Flamingo Fix. Weekly, no-BS strategies to scale smart, enforce boundaries, and build a business that actually feels good to run and grow. As a bonus, the first issue shares our proven client onboarding process, complete with the tools to create a red-carpet onboarding experience that wow your clients without utter chaos or losing your sanity.

Because your next-level business? It’s built on true leadership where you aren't holding everything together—you've built a business that holds you up, too.

Here’s to running a business on your terms—without the guilt. 💕

Be amazing,

Danielle & Chanel