When everything runs through one person: the hidden system load in small businesses
- Katerina Kotsi
- Feb 2
- 3 min read
In many small businesses, growth depends on one person.
Not by intention.
By design.
The founder, owner or lead professional often carries strategy, operations, client relationships, decision-making, and emotional responsibility - all at once.
On the surface, things may look functional - the business moves forward, results appear, everyone is “doing their best.”
But underneath, a silent pressure builds, which is not about workload - it's about system load.
What "system load" really means
System load is not how much work someone does. It’s how much the system depends on the same person to function.
When decisions, approvals, problem-solving, coordination and responsibility all flow through one individual, the system becomes fragile — even if that person is capable, experienced and committed.
Over time, system load shows up as:
constant mental pressure
decision fatigue
lack of recovery space
growth that feels heavy instead of energizing
Often without a clear “breaking point.”
Why this is so common in small businesses
Small businesses are often built around trust, speed and flexibility.
In early stages, centralization feels efficient. But as the business grows, the structure often doesn’t evolve at the same pace.
What worked at the beginning slowly turns into:
role overlap without clarity
responsibility without redistribution
growth without structural support
The system keeps asking for more — without recalibration.
When resilience becomes a warning sign
In these environments, pressure is frequently framed as a personal issue.
“Be more resilient.”
“Manage your energy better.”
“Push through this phase.”
But resilience has limits.
When a system consistently relies on one person’s capacity to absorb pressure, resilience becomes a coping mechanism - not a solution.
This is not a lack of strength or leadership - It’s a design issue.
From personal capacity to system awareness
Sustainable growth doesn’t start by asking people to do more.
It starts by understanding:
➤ how roles are distributed
➤ where decisions concentrate
➤ what expectations remain unspoken
➤ how much pressure the system generates — and where
Systemic awareness shifts the focus from individual endurance to organizational design.
And that shift changes everything.
Why system load matters for sustainable growth
When system load remains unaddressed:
wellbeing erodes quietly
decision quality declines
growth plateaus despite effort
people feel responsible for problems they didn’t create
When system load is acknowledged, different questions emerge:
➤ What actually needs to run through one person — and what doesn’t?
➤ Where does the system rely on personal effort instead of structure?
➤ What needs redesigning for growth to remain humanly sustainable?
These are strategic questions - not quick fixes.
A different way to think about growth
Small businesses don’t burn out.
People burn out - when systems are built around endless personal capacity.
Sustainable growth is not about resilience at any cost.
It’s about designing systems that respect human limits.
Because when everything runs through one person, the issue is not effort.
It’s structure.
At GROW Coaching Alliance, we work with growth as a systemic process, supporting people and organizations to redesign roles, decisions and structures in ways that are sustainable over time.
This approach sits at the core of our work with small businesses through our Small Business Coaching | Consulting services, and extends more broadly across leadership, career development, wellbeing, and organizational design.
Sources & influences
This article draws on insights from systemic thinking, organizational design and leadership research, including:
Senge, P. (2006). The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization.
Foundational work on systems thinking, highlighting how organizational outcomes are shaped by structure, feedback loops and design - not individual effort alone.
Simon, H. A. (1957). Models of Man: Social and Rational.
Introduced the concept of bounded rationality, emphasizing the limits of human decision-making within complex systems.
Baumeister, R. F., et al. (1998). Ego depletion: Is the active self a limited resource?
Research on decision fatigue and cognitive load, explaining how sustained decision concentration erodes performance and wellbeing over time.
Heifetz, R., & Linsky, M. (2002). Leadership on the Line.
Distinguished adaptive challenges from technical problems, reinforcing the need for systemic redesign rather than increased personal effort.
McKinsey & Company (2021). Organizational health and performance.
Executive research linking sustainable performance to system design, role clarity and distributed responsibility.
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