– The Leadership Skill Most Business Owners Are Missing (And How to Learn It)

If you started your business because you’re brilliant at what you do — you’re not alone.

Most business owners don’t begin their journey dreaming of managing a team. They start because they’re passionate about their craft, their expertise, or the impact they want to make.

But eventually, something shifts.

You reach a point where the business grows beyond what you alone can do. And the next stage of growth doesn’t come from working harder — it comes from learning how to lead.

In this week’s episode of the HerBusiness Podcast, I sat down with leadership expert and entrepreneur Shivani Gupta to talk about one of the most important transitions a founder can make: moving from doing the work to leading the people who do the work.

It’s a transition many founders struggle with.

Shivani shared that early in her career, she believed success meant working longer hours and doing everything herself. But over time, she discovered something surprising — the more she learned to let go, delegate, and focus on her “zone of genius,” the more successful her businesses became.

In this conversation, we explore:

• The critical mindset shift founders must make to grow beyond themselves
• The hidden cost of losing a team member (it’s far more than recruitment)
• Why your highest performers are actually the most at risk of burnout
• The hiring mistake many small business owners make when they’re in a hurry
• And the leadership skill most founders were never taught — but absolutely need

One insight that stood out for me was Shivani’s perspective on leadership as a coaching role.

When founders learn how to ask better questions, support their team’s thinking, and empower others to take ownership, something powerful happens: the team grows, the business grows, and the founder finally gets the space to lead.

And that’s ultimately what building a business is about — creating something that works with you, not something that depends entirely on you.

If you’re building a team, or thinking about building one, this episode will give you practical insights you can start using right away.

Loved this episode?

If you found value in this conversation, please share it with a fellow woman in business who’s ready to take LinkedIn more seriously — and more strategically.

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Learn more about Shivani’s services

Check out Shivani’s book Getting Your People to Step Up: 7 Simple Strategies to Attract and Keep Your Key Talent

Katie Balogh, Bright Point Research (review/commenter)