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Step Back From the Work. But Don’t Lose Sight of It.
Why the founders who stay close to the work will build better firms than the ones who don’t
There’s a milestone every professional services founder chases.
The day you stop doing billable work.
It means you’ve built something. You have a team you trust, and you’re working on the business, not in it. Anyone who helps scale professional services firms will tell you this is the goal, and they’re right.
But by stepping away from the work fully, you may actually be missing out on an opportunity to shape how it evolves.
Why It Matters More Now Than Ever
A few years ago, stepping back from the work was easier.
Because technology was developing at a slower pace, your processes didn’t need to change as often. Once you had a strong workflow in place, it held for an extended period of time.
That’s no longer true.
AI is changing how work gets done. Every week technology evolves with new tools, new capabilities, and new ways to do in an hour what used to take a day. If you’re not close enough to connect the dots, you’re relying entirely on others.
Your team, as good as they are, doesn’t see the work the way you do. They don’t have your experience, instincts, or unique ability.
The Week I Rolled Up My Sleeves
Recently, we signed our biggest project in a long time.
The timeline was extremely tight and my team was already resourced. So I did something I almost never do anymore-I jumped in, started doing the billable work, and helped get this project off the ground.
I synthesized the client’s goals, their vision, and their constraints. I produced work both my team and my client were proud of, faster than it would have happened otherwise, while coming up with new ideas for process improvements.
And importantly, I had fun doing it. I told my wife over dinner that this task was the most fun I’ve had in a while.
Not just because I got to do something I love, but because I was able to use my unique ability to help shape the direction of our process, which will be relevant for anyone who does the work after me.
The Founder’s Dilemma
We’re not supposed to be doing billable work, because we can’t scale a firm if we’re the ones delivering it.
But we are experts in our craft. We see the business and the industry differently from our individual contributors and our managers.
Knowing the work means you understand your team’s processes, how the industry is changing, and where the gaps are. You can bring your unique perspective to a project when it matters most.
Doing the work every day doesn’t scale.
Losing sight of it entirely is a different kind of risk.
What This Looks Like in Practice
You don’t have to do this often. But consider building it into how you lead:
- Sit in on a team working session you’d normally skip. Observe. Think. Recommend.
- Jump in on a project once or twice a year, especially a meaningful one.
- Do the work yourself before you hand off a new process, so you understand what you’re asking your team to do.
The goal isn’t to prove you can still do it. The goal is to stay close enough to understand it.
The Bottom Line
You started this business because of your unique ability.
Over time, that unique ability shifts. You move from executor to enabler.
But enabling your business sometimes means rolling up your sleeves. Not to take over. Not to prove a point. Just to stay connected to the thing that made you good at this in the first place.
Call to Action
Take the first step in preparing for your journey:
Join Collective 54 and Subscribe to Collective 54 Insights to access resources, expertise, and a network of leaders that help professional services firms grow, scale, and exit on their terms.