Founders know that they will need an SLT at some point, or maybe you already have one but it doesn't really feel like they are helping you with the ‘leading’ bit.
Either way, there’s a good chance you’ve found yourself wondering:
Why am I still the one making all the big decisions?
Why aren’t they stepping up and leading? Or WHO is going to step up?
How do I get them to take real ownership?
The truth is, just having an SLT doesn’t automatically make your life easier. Often (and due to bad implementation, it's harder and makes you more frustrated!).
To create a leadership team that leads with confidence, you need to provide a comprehensive set of information. Effectively you are pulling out of your brain what you do and how you do it (or what you want to do!) and presenting it in a way that can be understood, learned and evolved by the SLT you create..
This is often the hurdle founders get stuck on. How do you articulate something as personal and often instinctive, as how you make decisions, define priorities, communicate and execute a vision and motivate others around them? Therein lies the challenge.
Included in this article are a set of steps (that hope!) to simplify the process. In no way does this make the task easier. This is a hard thing to accomplish but, once in place and working effectively, you will have any number of new opportunities and alternatives paths open to you but that will remain closed to you all the time you are the sole owner of all the senior responsibilities.
What Founders Gain from a Strong SLT
A well-functioning SLT isn’t just about having the titles (and the salaries!) —it’s about building a team that:
Actually takes work off your plate – because you’re not the bottleneck for decisions.
Grows the agency faster – because different parts of the business are being properly managed.
Makes the business more valuable – whether you want to sell one day or simply step back.
If your SLT isn’t taking full ownership, chances are they either don’t have the authority to make decisions or don’t feel fully responsible for outcomes.
The solution? Build empowerment to achieve accountability.
Why Empowerment Comes Before Accountability
If they’re not empowered to lead, you’ll still be the go-to person for everything. But on the flip side, if they have too much freedom without accountability, things can quickly spiral.
So how do you create an SLT that actually runs your agency—so you can focus on the bigger picture? It starts with empowerment and builds to accountability.
If you want to hold people accountable, you first have to make sure they have everything they need to succeed. Think of it like this:
Empowerment | Accountability | |
Control | Leaders have the freedom to make decisions. | Leaders take responsibility for outcomes. |
Mindset | “I trust you to handle this.” | “I own the results of my work.” |
Support | They have the tools, budget, and authority to act. | They are measured on performance and outcomes. |
Feedback | They’re encouraged to take risks and learn. | They’re held responsible for following through. |
If people don’t feel empowered, they’ll hesitate. If they don’t feel accountable, they won’t follow through..
What You Need to Put in Place for an Effective SLT
8 Jobs to that will create empowerment in your agency and will build to accountability
Putting any one of these in place will reduce the weight of leadership on you and impact your ability to do more with your agency. Whilst the topic of this article is an SLT these are all best practices for anyone with employees.
1. Clear Roles & Responsibilities
Your SLT (or any employee for that matter) can’t take ownership of their role if they’re unsure what they actually own. They need to know what tasks they're supposed to accomplish, what their specific goals are, how their work impacts the larger goals of the business, and how their work will be evaluated and measured.
Set out a crystal clear set of expectations for the role they are in and make sure it includes:
Their responsibilities (tasks owned by them and in their control) and accountabilities (directly measurable outcomes).
What decisions they can make on their own vs. where they need approval.
What success looks like in their role (KPI’s, metrics, scores - a measurable definition of good performance)
Without this, staff will continue to default to you for guidance, simply because they will not know if they have done a good job or be sure if it is their job. It reduces confusion, uncertainty and conflict and ensures that you can see who is making progress toward their goals without any miscommunications or roadblocks along the way.
2. A Clear Vision, Mission & Purpose
Your leadership team needs to understand where the agency is going. A team of people setting out on a journey with no destination in mind or an idea of a direction of travel are destined to get lost and become disheartened. Putting pressure on the leader to answer all the questions, make all the decisions and keep up morale.
Share this burden with your people by letting them in on where you are taking them and why.
That means defining:
Your Vision – The big-picture goal (e.g., “To be the go-to branding agency for startups.”).
Mission – How you deliver value (e.g., “We help startups build standout brands that grow.”).
Purpose – The deeper reason you do what you do (e.g., “We believe every great idea deserves a great brand.”).
When everyone understands the bigger picture, they can make better decisions without always checking in with you.
3. Success Measures & Accountability
It’s not enough to say “just take ownership.” Your SLT needs specific ways to measure success that leave no grey areas for subjectivity ensuring that expectations are clear, progress is trackable, and accountability is based on objective results rather than personal interpretation.
Agency-wide KPIs (e.g., revenue growth, client retention, profitability).
Team-specific KPIs (e.g., lead generation for marketing, project delivery speed for operations).
Personal leadership goals linked to their performance.
With this in place people can report to you on progress rather than you having to be involved in everything. Accountability isn’t about checking up on people constantly—it’s about making sure everyone knows how their success is measured.
4. Decision-Making Authority
If your leadership team constantly needs your approval, you’ll stay stuck in the weeds. Being interrupted and included on decision after decisions is the biggest time zapper for a leader. Save yourself the disruption by setting clear guidelines for:
Decisions they can make independently (e.g., hiring for their team, approving marketing spend).
Decisions that require your input (e.g., major financial commitments, new services).
How they should approach decisions (e.g., always align with agency values, use data to inform choices).
When people know what they can control, they’ll act with confidence, take the responsibility you need them too, and leave you to get on with what you should be doing.
5. The Right Resources
You can’t expect leaders to take responsibility if they don’t have what they need to succeed. Part of the reason you make intuitive decisions is because you have the data, information or contacts to complete that action. If you want your team to do the same you have to hand some of that over and make it straightforward enough for them to understand it.
At a minimum you need to make sure they have:
A budget for their department.
Access to key data (financials, client metrics, marketing analytics).
The right tools, systems and contacts to manage their work effectively.
A leader without resources isn’t really a leader—they’re just a middleman.
6. Incentives That Drive Ownership
People are far more likely to take responsibility when they have skin in the game. Not all incentives are created equal (cash is king) but not all incentives have to be financial.
Whatever you decide to incentivise your team with, their performance must be aligned with:
Business success (e.g., bonuses tied to revenue or client retention).
Personal growth (e.g., performance in role, their teams performance, hitting personal goals).
When people see a direct connection between their effort and their rewards, they naturally become more accountable.
7. Training, Coaching & Development
Great leadership isn’t just about titles—it’s about continuous improvement. Lots of people get stuck in a management frame of mind because not enough time is given to the development of their skills. As the world evolves, so do markets, people, cultures and technology. Leaders need to as well.
Set time and resources aside each year to invest in:
Leadership coaching to help them grow into their roles.
Training in strategic thinking, financial management, and people leadership.
Opportunities to learn from other successful leaders.
No one becomes a great leader overnight, even people who have a natural affinity need time and the right support to develop their skills.
8. Regular Check-Ins & Feedback
Consistency is key to establishing your SLT and its success over the long term. Lots of things you try will fail or not work the way you expect it to. A process needs to be in place for you and your SLT to come together for open, honest conversations in a safe environment —free from judgment or blame — where challenges can be addressed, feedback can be shared constructively, and solutions can be developed collaboratively.
Accountability works best when it’s consistent. Make sure to:
Hold regular SLT check-ins to discuss progress and challenges.
Have monthly leadership meetings focused on strategy.
Provide quarterly performance reviews so expectations are clear.
This keeps everyone aligned and moving forward, rather than letting issues pile up.
Your SLT Should Run the Business—Not You
If you’re still the main decision-maker in your agency, you don't have an SLT - if you have one and they are not making decisions your SLT isn’t really leading.
By putting these empowerment structures in place, you’ll build a leadership team that:
Take responsibility for results.
Make confident decisions without you.
Drives the agency forward—so you don’t have to oversee every move.
The key is balance—giving leaders the trust and tools to succeed, while holding them accountable for outcomes.
But this all starts with the founder, you have to create the environment and provide all the things an SLT will need to succeed. Start by empowering them and the rest will follow.
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