Managing Growing Teams and Resources
- bryan6708
- Aug 15
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 22
Why Real Leaders Don’t Just Lead—They Lift
Introduction: Scaling Requires More Than Vision—It Requires Elevation
Let’s be honest—many entrepreneurs believe the secret to scaling is better marketing, tighter systems, or a more refined product.
Those things matter.
But they’re not enough.
If you want to grow your business sustainably, you need to grow your people.
This is something I learned firsthand—not from a textbook, but while running a charter air service in Alaska. Our team was made up of talented, capable people, many of whom came from entry-level backgrounds.
Some had never seen a P&L. Others didn’t know what a balance sheet was.
But that didn’t stop us from expecting greatness.
Instead of waiting for people to “level up,” we taught them.
We held financial literacy classes. We walked through real reports. We opened the books and showed our team how the business worked.
Why?
Because real leadership isn’t about holding the reins.
It’s about elevating others so they can take the reins too.
This blog is for entrepreneurs managing growing teams and resources who want to build not just capacity, but capability—and do it in a way that enables scale, freedom, and long-term growth.
Part 1: Growth Without Leadership is Just Chaos at Scale
Here’s the truth that most entrepreneurs bump into eventually:
As your team grows, the complexity grows too.
More people = more communication needs
More revenue = more moving parts
More offerings = more delivery pressure
If you don’t develop your leadership muscle—and develop leaders around you—you’ll become the bottleneck in your own success.
💡 Key Principle:
The bigger your business gets, the more it depends on who you’re empowering, not just what you’re doing.
It’s not about more hustle. It’s about more trust.
Part 2: The Evolution of an Entrepreneur’s Role
Let’s talk about the natural progression:
👣 The Doer Stage
You wear all the hats. You do it all yourself.
👣 The Delegator Stage
You begin handing off tasks, but it’s still transactional. People do what you say, but not much more.
👣 The Developer Stage
This is where the shift happens. You start teaching your team how to think, not just what to do.
📌 This is where I found the most leverage in my business. Once I started educating our team, everything changed. They didn’t just follow—they contributed. They solved problems. They stepped up.
Real scale starts here.
Part 3: Building Capability, Not Just Capacity
When you empower your team with knowledge, tools, and context, you’re not just adding bodies—you’re multiplying effectiveness.
🧠 Knowledge Builds Ownership
When someone understands why something matters, they make better decisions.
In our charter air business, we didn’t just tell our employees to “cut expenses” or “boost revenue.”
We showed them the financials. We explained the difference between fixed costs (like the cost of our charter flights) and variable costs (like marketing and labor), and showed them how all the revenues and costs flowed through to the bottom line.
And suddenly… they got it.
They cared about performance.
They took ownership because they understood the impact.
📌 Action Step:
Host a “Business 101” session with your team.
Walk through a simplified P&L. Show how the business makes money. Explain the key drivers. You’ll be amazed at how quickly people step up when they understand what’s at stake.
Part 4: Training Future Leaders Starts Now
One of the most sustainable things you can do as an entrepreneur is build a leadership pipeline.
That doesn’t mean everyone gets a title. It means you help your team think and act like owners—even before they manage others.
🔑 What Future Leaders Need:
Clarity of Purpose – What does your business stand for? Where is it headed?
Visibility into the Big Picture – What affects profits? What drives client retention?
Opportunities to Contribute Beyond Their Role – Let them lead initiatives, present ideas, and run meetings.
📌 I’ve seen this happen again and again. When you raise the bar and provide structure, people grow into it.
Part 5: Resourcing for Scale—Strategically and Sustainably
Hiring isn’t just about filling seats.
It’s about building the right roles, responsibilities, and resources for where your business is
headed.
Here’s the framework I use and teach inside my course:
✅ Define What You Need
What functions are taking up the most of your time?
What parts of the business are bottlenecked?
Where are opportunities being missed due to capacity gaps?
Create roles based on function, not personalities. Don’t hire a generalist “helper.” Hire for what will unlock growth.
✅ Use the 3-Level Resource Planning Model
Tactical Support – Assistants, coordinators, admin
Functional Leads – Marketing manager, operations manager
Strategic Partners – Fractional CFO, advisors, consultants
📌 Inside my own companies, I didn’t start with a huge team, but I was strategic. I layered in support that bought me time and clarity. I didn’t just want more help—I wanted the right kind of help.
Part 6: Document Processes So Your Team Can Own Them
You can’t scale people unless they have clarity.
That means documenting your systems.
🛠 Tools I Recommend:
When someone can watch, read, and reference how something is done, they can do it without you. That’s freedom—for you and them.
📌 Action Step:
Choose one weekly task you currently own.
Record a Loom video explaining how it’s done.
Upload it to your SOP folder.
Assign it to a team member.
Now you’ve created capacity and built their capability.
Part 7: Use Check-Ins to Reinforce Alignment and Growth
As your team grows, communication can’t just “happen.” It must be intentional.
Here’s what I’ve seen work consistently:
🗓 Weekly Check-Ins:
Short (15–30 minutes)
Focused on priorities, blockers, and wins
Great for accountability
📆 Monthly 1:1s:
Review goals and performance
Discuss development and leadership opportunities
Invite feedback on what’s working/not working
🧭 Quarterly Alignment Meetings:
Revisit goals
Share company vision updates
Celebrate progress
Cast vision for what’s next
These rhythms reduce drama, increase clarity, and reinforce leadership culture.
Part 8: Empower Through Teaching—Not Telling
If you’ve ever felt like you're repeating yourself, babysitting tasks, or cleaning up mistakes, you might be leading with direction, but not development.
Instead of:
“Just do it this way.”
Try:
“Here’s why this works—and how it connects to our goals.”
📌 That’s what we did in our team training sessions back in the charter air business. We showed them the ‘why’ behind every SOP. The result? People didn’t just follow—they improved the system.
Part 9: From Manager to Mentor—The Final Shift
Once your team can manage the day-to-day, your role shifts again.
You’re no longer managing people.
You’re mentoring leaders.
That’s true leverage.
When you stop being the person who solves every problem—and instead become the person who teaches others how to solve problems—you’re on your way to sustainable scale.
Conclusion: Lead by Elevating Others
Let’s bring this home.
Growing your team and managing your resources isn’t just about logistics.
It’s about mindset, structure, and intention.
When you:
✅ Teach your team how the business works
✅ Document your systems and delegate clearly
✅ Build leadership from the inside
✅ Resource your business based on growth goals
…you’re not just growing a business.
You’re building a company that can run without you.
You’re elevating others—and that’s the most impactful leadership there is.
Reflection Prompt:
What’s one way you’re developing leadership inside your organization?
Hit reply and let me know—I’d love to hear how you’re building your next generation of leaders.
P.S. Want to build a business where your team is empowered, your systems are smooth, and your time is spent in true leadership?
Watch my free training video here: https://www.ralwest.com/six-principles
Or check out my Mastermind, designed to teach entrepreneurs like you to build scalable systems and make confident decisions https://www.ralwest.com/mastermind
Subscribe to my YouTube channel for insights on business systems, leadership, and entrepreneurial freedom: https://www.youtube.com/@RalWest
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