Five Signs Your Business Is on Life Support. The Cost? Your Life.

When a business is running smoothly, the systems, people, and culture operate like a healthy body: energy flows, decisions happen, and growth feels natural. But when a business slips onto “life support,” it may still be alive—but only because you, the leader, are constantly keeping it breathing.

How do you know if that’s happening? Here are five warning signs:

1. You’re the Bottleneck for Every Decision

Or you make the best decisions, so you have to make all of them. Nothing moves until you approve it. Your team waits for answers that only you can provide. This may feel like control, but it’s really a symptom of dependence. A healthy business has empowered people to make aligned choices without you in the room. In a healthy business, everyone knows their spending limit and how to get approval beyond it.

2. Meetings Feel Endless and Unproductive

Instead of fueling clarity and action, meetings rehash the same topics or spiral into confusion. When people leave unsure of their roles, next steps or by when, it’s a signal that the systems—and the trust—aren’t working.

3. Everyone Is Doing Everything

Job descriptions blur. People cover for one another constantly, but without clear accountability. While agility can be good, chronic role confusion breeds frustration, inefficiency, and burnout.

4. Trust Is Thin (or Missing)

If you find yourself double-checking your team’s work—or if they hesitate to act without your blessing—it’s a sign trust hasn’t taken root. True trust shows up as confidence: competence, sincerity, reliability, and care in action.

5. You Can’t Step Away Without Chaos

The ultimate test: can you take a week off and return to a business that’s still moving forward? If every small absence leads to stalled progress, you’re on life support.

Moving Toward Health

The good news? Being on life support isn’t the end—it’s a diagnosis. And diagnoses can lead to healing. By clarifying your story, building trust, and developing resilience in your team, you create a culture that breathes on its own.

For a deeper dive into this conversation, listen to the latest episode of The Story in Your Head podcast, where Ron and Deb share what it takes to move a business off life support—and onto a path of lasting vitality.

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