Situation overview
This situation arises when a business is growing, but the foundations that supported earlier success are starting to strain.
Revenue may be increasing, but margin is under pressure, delivery is inconsistent, or leadership time is being pulled into operational detail. What worked at one scale no longer works at the next, and the organisation has not yet caught up with itself.
I am typically brought in to help leadership teams scale in a controlled way. The focus is on protecting margin, delivery, and team effectiveness while introducing the operational discipline needed to support the next phase of growth.
What this situation often looks like in practice
While each business is different, common characteristics include:
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Growth outpacing structure, capability, or operational clarity
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Increasing pressure on margin or customer experience
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Leadership teams becoming a bottleneck for decisions
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Roles and accountabilities that made sense historically but no longer fit
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A sense that momentum is strong, but control is starting to fray
The risk is not growth slowing, but growth becoming inefficient, fragile, or value destructive.
Selected Case Studies
Establishing control and board confidence in a fast-scaling, technically complex business
Context
A fast-growing, rights-led commercial business had scaled revenue quickly, but operational discipline and forecasting confidence had not kept pace. The commercial model was technically complex, with interdependencies across rights structures, activation timing, sales productivity, renewals, and cash conversion.
The portfolio team was increasingly nervous about its relationship with the CEO, who was highly capable but demanding and difficult to challenge. Board confidence was fragile, not because the opportunity was flawed, but because complexity was running ahead of control.
I was engaged to provide an independent operational perspective and help the board understand whether growth was sustainable, and what would be required to maintain control without slowing momentum.
What mattered in this situation
The immediate priority was not diagnosis for its own sake, but credibility.
The board needed confidence that someone could quickly understand the technical sales engine, challenge assumptions constructively, and engage the CEO without triggering defensiveness or friction.
Within the first meeting, it was clear that the value lay in moving fast. By getting to grips with the commercial mechanics and operational sequencing early, I was able to establish trust with both the board and management within a very short period of time.
This allowed conversations to move quickly from anxiety and uncertainty to practical discussion around timing, structure, and control.
Outcome
The board gained rapid clarity on where growth was structurally sound and where sequencing and discipline needed tightening. The portfolio team’s concerns about engagement were alleviated as confidence grew in the quality and pace of the operational understanding.
The business retained its growth trajectory, but with improved governance, clearer commercial rhythms, and a more grounded operating plan that aligned ambition with delivery capability.
This work became the foundation for wider stabilisation and value protection activity, but its defining impact was restoring confidence and control without slowing the business down.
Strengthening control and execution as a high-growth business scaled
Context
A fast-growing energy solutions business had set out an ambitious expansion strategy. Demand was strong, the commercial opportunity was clear, and the CEO had a well-defined vision for growth.
However, execution now depended on a senior leadership team spanning finance, sales, operations, legal, programme delivery, and technology working in much closer coordination than had previously been required. Complexity was increasing rapidly. Decisions were becoming more interdependent, and the cost of misalignment was rising.
The risk was not loss of momentum, but loss of control.
I was engaged to help the leadership team mature its operating discipline so the business could continue to scale without fragmenting decision-making or overloading the CEO.
What mattered in this situation
The challenge was not strategy. It was execution at scale.
Each functional leader understood their own objectives, but there was no shared commercial lens across the group. Decisions were often taken in isolation, with downstream consequences only surfacing later. Bottlenecks emerged not because of capability gaps, but because sequencing, trade-offs, and ownership were unclear.
As growth accelerated, the CEO was increasingly pulled into cross-functional judgement calls that should have been resolved within the team. This was not sustainable if the business was to scale with confidence.
The priority was to introduce stronger commercial alignment, shared language, and operating rhythm without slowing the organisation down or adding layers of management.
My role
I worked directly with the CEO and senior leadership team to diagnose where execution was breaking down and to strengthen how the group operated collectively.
The focus was on:
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Establishing a shared understanding of commercial drivers and constraints
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Clarifying cross-functional interdependencies and decision rights
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Translating strategic intent into clear, executable priorities
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Introducing a disciplined operating rhythm that improved pace and consistency
The work was deliberately practical. It centred on real decisions, live projects, and immediate delivery pressures rather than abstract development activity.
Outcome
The leadership team moved from parallel effort to coordinated execution.
Decision-making became faster and more consistent as leaders developed a clearer understanding of how their actions affected the wider system. Cross-functional friction reduced. Priorities were better sequenced, and accountability was clearer.
Most importantly, the CEO was able to step back from day-to-day arbitration as the leadership team became more confident and self-sufficient in managing complexity.
The business retained its growth trajectory, but with improved control, stronger execution discipline, and a leadership structure capable of carrying the organisation through its next phase of scale.
Additional relevant work
Additional growth and scale-up work includes:
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Independent operational review for a rapidly scaling rights-led commercial business where revenue growth outpaced operating discipline. Identified structural timing mismatches, productivity dilution from headcount-led growth, and underperformance in renewals. Recommendations focused on restoring operational control and supporting sustainable scale without sacrificing margin or delivery confidence.
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Co-chaired a senior leadership planning session for MB&G Insurance to strengthen management information discipline while preserving a collaborative culture. Introduced structured pre-work, focused discussion, and follow-on implementation support to align leadership around priorities and execution.
- Early-stage leadership and succession risk review for a fast-growing portfolio company, commissioned to address emerging strain within the senior team before performance was impacted. Work focused on identifying key-person dependencies, strengthening leadership capacity, and establishing credible succession and contingency plans to support continued scale.
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Leadership alignment and commercial discipline programme for a scaling business where growth ambition outpaced cross-functional coordination. Work focused on improving sequencing, reducing friction, and strengthening leadership rhythm to support sustainable scale.
- Facilitated strategic planning and communication sequencing for University of Sheffield’s Sports Faculty following a material change in funding structure. Introduced structured planning, stakeholder alignment, and a clear cascade approach to maintain momentum and clarity during transition.
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Operational assessment and succession planning for a potential acquisition, focused on reducing founder dependency, protecting key client and partner relationships, and ensuring leadership continuity post-completion.
Trust and context
This work is often undertaken alongside boards and investors who are supportive of growth, but clear-eyed about the risks of losing operational and financial control as scale increases.
His expertise and dedication were invaluable to us during this critical period.
“In the world of family investment, not everything goes to plan. We faced a challenging situation with one of our investments, and I turned to Trev to help stabilise the business. From the outset, Trev displayed exceptional leadership and a clear understanding of our needs. He delivered on every objective and went above and beyond by recruiting a new Managing Director. Trev ensured a smooth transition, handing over the business in a stronger, more stable position. His expertise and dedication were invaluable to us during this critical period.”
John Davies – Managing Partner – Pitalia Capital