When Spotify’s founder Daniel Ek announced he would step down as chief executive recently, it made headlines. After nearly 20 years running one of Europe’s most successful tech companies, he’s moved into a chairman role and left day-to-day control to two long-serving deputies.

For most business owners, the business will be very different, but the principle is the same. At some point, you may want (or need) to step back. That could be for retirement, to focus on new opportunities, through ill health, or simply to avoid burning out. 

The question is: how do you prepare your business to thrive without you in direct control every day?

Here are some practical steps that could help you take that step:

1. Build a capable leadership team

Ek’s handover wasn’t sudden. His deputies have been running much of the business since 2023, which means staff and customers are already used to them leading.

For a smaller business, this might mean gradually giving key managers more responsibility. Let them make decisions, even if your approach might have been different. It’s far better to iron out issues while you’re still around to provide support.

2. Separate ownership from management

Many founders assume stepping back means selling up. Not necessarily. 

Ek is still chairman and still guiding long-term strategy, for the time being at least, but no longer managing the day-to-day.

As a business owner, you could consider keeping your shares and remaining involved at board level, while hiring or promoting someone to run day-to-day operations. That way you benefit from the company’s growth without being tied to the day to day operations.

3. Get your systems in order

The bigger the reliance on ‘what’s in your head’, the harder it will be for anyone else to run things. This isn’t always easy to detect, particularly if you enjoy being in the middle of things.

You could track the number of decisions that you make in a typical day. Consider whether all of those decisions need your input, or whether some written business processes could enable staff to get things done without referring to you. A good indicator is whether you’re a bottleneck in your business, or how much you’re in demand when you’re out of the office or on holiday.

Having up-to-date procedures, good accounting systems, and clear contracts with customers and suppliers can all help. The more clarity there is, the less your team has to guess and the less mistakes they may make.

4. Think about your own role differently

Ek is shifting his focus to strategy, capital allocation and regulatory efforts; this long term, strategic work is likely to be work that he is best placed to do. This is a useful way of thinking about your own role.

Ask yourself: what are the tasks that genuinely require you? And what could be delegated over time? And which do you enjoy?

Freeing yourself from day-to-day firefighting gives you time to work on the bigger picture, or the one you get enjoyment from.

5. Plan the story you’ll tell staff and customers

Spotify’s share price dipped when Ek’s decision was announced, a reminder that transitions can unsettle people. The same is true in smaller businesses; staff may worry about job security and customers may have concerns about service quality.

Good communication can help. Develop a plan, explain it clearly, show confidence in your team, and reassure people. 

A final thought…

You don’t need to be running a global business to learn from Ek’s move. 

Every founder has a choice to make about how long they stay hands-on. Planning your own ‘step back’ early can help to make your business stronger, give you more options, and protect the value you’ve worked so hard to build. The sooner you move to replace yourself in your business, the sooner you can choose which elements you focus on and the sooner the business becomes more secure.

You can find out more about Preparing for a Business Exit here.