The Big 5 Leadership Framework

Most founders think their business problems can be solved by hiring one magical person.

A “COO.”
An “Integrator.”
A “Rockstar Operator” who does all the stuff you hate...without being told what to do.

It’s a seductive idea. You stay in “visionary” mode while your #2 handles the chaos.

But there’s a problem: It almost never works.

Why? Because you’re trying to hire one person to do the job of five.

If you want to scale beyond $1M or $2M and build a business that runs without you, you don’t need a unicorn. You need five real leaders, each with a clear function and outcome to own. Enter “The Big 5 Leadership Framework.”

Here’s how it works:

This is your top-of-funnel rainmaker. They don’t need to write every ad or post on social…but they must own:

They coordinate campaigns, wrangle agencies, own the content calendar, and ensure your marketing dollars actually produce results. If no one owns this role, you’ll constantly be “fixing” sales problems that are actually demand problems in disguise.

WARNING: Don’t outsource your entire marketing function to an agency. Agencies are great, but you still need someone in-house thinking ONLY about your brand and your goals.

Your head of sales doesn’t just close deals—they build and run your entire revenue machine. They should own:

This person sets the follow-up cadence, recruits and trains the team, builds the pipeline, and installs the accountability systems. If lead flow is strong but revenue is flat, this is the fix.

TIP: Don’t promote your best closer to sales manager. The best coaches aren’t always the best players. Look for someone who’s built a team before, not just someone who’s crushed quota.

This is the person who makes sure the promises your sales and marketing teams make actually get delivered. Their job: keep customers happy and protect your margins.

They own:

Look for a system-thinker who can build scalable fulfillment processes without killing the client experience. Don’t just promote your most experienced technician. You need someone who believes delivery can be documented, delegated, and improved.

This is the most overlooked role—and the one that can save your business from disaster. Their job? Make sure the numbers make sense and the cash is actually there.

They must own:

TIP: Hire a controller, not just a bookkeeper. You probably don’t need a full-blown CFO yet, but you do need someone who can close the books by the 10th, highlight variances, and turn data into decisions.

Yes…this is one of the Big 5.

Why? Because your time is now the most valuable resource in the company, and unless someone owns your inbox, calendar, and workflow, you will always be the bottleneck.

This role manages:

And you don’t need a low-cost VA, you need an experienced Executive Assistant…someone who proactively clears the runway so you can stay in your zone of genius.

Why This Works (and Unicorns Don’t): Each of these roles solves a specific constraint. Each owns a measurable outcome. Each frees you from a core function without relying on micromanagement.

Trying to wrap all of this into one hire is a recipe for burnout, churn, and expensive false starts.

⚡ Action Step: List out the Big 5 roles. Next to each, write who owns that function today. If your name appears more than once…that’s your next hire. Start with your biggest bottleneck (demand or supply) and replace yourself one constraint at a time.

And remember: Unicorns don’t scale…systems and specialists do.

P.S. Stop letting bad hires and broken systems hold you back. Let’s create a plan that “de-bottlenecks” you from your business so you can scale your company…without sacrificing your soul. Schedule a free “Scale Session” today.

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