There are so many firm owners quietly leading teams and clients in our profession and you may not know who they are. They may not be on social media very often but they have hundreds and hundreds of team members and thousands of clients under their care on a daily basis.

This is our 2025 Venture Summit group – a group of about 25 to 30 leaders that gather in person every year to wrestle with leadership and hear from each other on how to lead a team and clients with more intention. These leaders are so inspiring, I wish you could have been there! It’s not unusual for them to stand up impromptu and start teaching the group – they are all well versed in leadership and openly wrestle together with their own confidential issues in their firms. 

Implementing Change Through a Restructure

One key topic we discussed was structuring our firms intentionally. What is structure? Structure is adding what we anecdotally call scaffolding to our firms as they grow. As a services company grows larger (more revenue, more clients, more team, more service lines, etc.) then it becomes more complex. As it becomes more complex then that complexity must be matched with more ‘support’ or ‘scaffolding’ to prop up the organization. This is necessary so that the organization doesn’t implode in on itself, or worse, overwhelm and consume the founder/owners. 

We discussed 4 key areas of structure at the 2025 Venture Summit:

1. Building a visual Accountability Chart. This visually lays out how your team is listed within the organization, and where each team member is located. My partner and I often build these charts with our consulting clients when their firm is overwhelmed by its own complexity. The visual representation of the team is a key to everyone understanding their place and context within the team. 
2. Build your Accountability Chart with Roles. Roles, with the associated Title, is the full description of what a team member is meant to perform in a firm. We often say “firms are built with roles, not humans.” That only means that we don’t build roles around the people we hire. It’s the other way around. Instead, we create roles that support the organization in its growth. Then we hire humans into the Role and make sure we are clear about what we are hiring them to do. So it’s the Role that defines what the organization needs. And it’s the Role that helps the human we hire know what is expected of them. 
3. Build your Roles with Job Descriptions. Job Descriptions are more specific descriptions of the Role. Every Role has a title, and the Job Description gives clarity to the Role. We make our Job Descriptions super-detailed in our firm. We want clarity so we lean towards 3 to 4 page Job Descriptions that clearly define what we expect from that role. As we say, “clarity is kindness,” so we never assume when we are adding scaffolding to an organization. We want to spell out the requirements of a role as clearly as we can. A Job Description is how we do that. 
4. Build your firm around Rhythms. This is another way to add scaffolding to cull the chaos of the complexity of growth. Rhythms work out to be calendar-based, meaning they can be placed on a calendar, then recur over time. We define rhythms with 3 components:
   • Same time – clarity is picking the same time for the rhythm. Having a rhythm always recurring at 9 am, EST, or 2 pm, EST (as examples) defines clarity of when things are to take place (typically meetings of some sort).
   • Same day – for more clarity, we add these rhythms on the same day too – always on Tuesdays, or always on Fridays if we can. Adding a rhythm on the same day at the same time makes work even clearer for team members. Now we are at same time, same day to bring clarity for how to implement the rhythm to the structure we are seeking to add to our companies as they grow. 
   • Same recurrence – for more clarity, we add recurrence on a rhythm to the mix. Again, this is a calendar-based rhythm, so now we define it as daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, etc. We can define any recurrence pattern to fit in with the same time, same day parameters mentioned above. This adds yet another calendar-based rhythm that tightens up the operations of a growing services organization.

As an example of a rhythm, we have a Weekly Team Meeting every Wednesday at 12 PM EST on a weekly cadence. Same time, same day, every week. This is the rhythm where our team gets to know each other better, check in with the firm, and enjoy each other’s company as we solidify our culture. What started as a simple check-in has become the heartbeat of our firm. 

Here’s What Really Happens When You Get Structure Right

We help a lot of firms transform, and here’s what we consistently see: the firms that embrace intentional scaffolding don’t just survive their scaling adventure – they thrive through it. These owners aren’t burning out at their desks, trying to hold everything together through sheer force of will.

Instead, they’re having the conversations that matter… inside of their structure. They’re thinking strategically about market opportunities, not just reactively putting out fires. Their teams operate with clarity and confidence because everyone knows their role and how it connects to the bigger picture. The chronic overwhelm that plagues growing firms can be dissolved when you have the right structural foundation (you just have to fight the fear to get started).

Your Growth Challenge Starts Now

If you’re thinking it sounds hard to implement structure, I’ve been there. The good news? You don’t need to overhaul everything at once. Pick one element – maybe start with mapping out that Accountability Chart. Accountability is key. Give yourself an hour this week to map out who’s really responsible for what in your firm.

You’ll probably uncover some surprising gaps or duplications you didn’t realize existed. That’s exactly the kind of insight that comes out of mapping things like an accountability chart. 

The beauty of building scaffolding is that each piece makes the next one easier to implement. Before you know it, you’ll have created a whole firm that supports your leadership desires instead of consuming them. We’re not just running accounting firms – we’re reimagining what professional services can become. And that requires leaders who think like entrepreneurs, not just skilled technicians who happen to own a business. 

Do you want help with your structure? That’s what we do! Contact us so we can help you get started.

What’s next for you? Join our community and share your inspiration with other like-minded firm entrepreneurs.