They want to talk to you about business.
If you are building a business with someone,
You need to pay attention to something that is very easy to overlook when you are focused on getting things done.
And it's not what they say,
Not how they present.
It's what they actually sustain.
Because you may already recognize this.
You are the one carrying the work.
You are the one holding responsibility.
You are the one making sure things move.
And the other person is still there,
Visible,
Positioned.
Involved in how the business is perceived.
But when you look at what they are actually holding,
It doesn't match.
And that difference matters more than most people realize.
My name is Martha Curtis.
I'm a psychotherapist and coach,
And I work with creatives and I support individuals who are or have been in controlling or unpredictable relationships.
And alongside that,
I run an institute where we develop coaches and support leaders in building clear,
Healthy,
High-functioning environments.
And this is something I've been seeing enough times now with business owners that it needs to be addressed here.
People who maintain position without carrying equivalent responsibility.
How does that look like?
The beginning they are engaged,
They have ideas,
They speak with confidence,
They position themselves as part of the build.
And it feels like alignment.
But over time,
The structure tells a very different story.
You are the one executing.
You are deciding.
You are carrying pressure.
And they are still present.
In a different way.
They contribute selectively.
They remain visible.
They retain influence.
And this is where you need to be precise because influence without contribution changes the structure of the system.
So,
Let's talk about the bricks and the sand.
Think of your business as a structure.
Every action,
Every decision,
Every piece of work becomes part of that structure.
When you show up consistently,
Follow through and take responsibility,
You are laying bricks.
They hold weight.
They support what comes next.
They allow the structure to grow.
But someone else may be adding something that looks similar on the surface but doesn't function the same way.
Their involvement is inconsistent.
Their follow-through is partial.
Their presence is more visible than it is structural.
And that is not the same material.
You are building with bricks,
They are building with sand.
And I can tell you,
This can go on for a very long time.
And this dynamic often persists because it doesn't immediately break anything.
The structure continues to stand for a while because your work is holding it.
And while you are focused on building,
They are focused on maintaining their position within it.
They stay close enough to the center.
They remain associated with progress.
They benefit from what is being built,
But they are not carrying the same load.
And over time that creates a system where effort and influence are no longer aligned.
And every business reaches a point where the structure is tested.
Pressure increases,
Decisions become more complex,
The margin for error narrows.
And this is where the difference becomes visible.
Your work holds,
Theirs doesn't.
And when their part fails it doesn't stay isolated because everything is connected.
When the contribution gives way,
You are the one.
Who ends up absorbing it.
You fix what breaks.
You adjust timelines.
And you carry more than you agreed to.
And something else happens at the same time.
The more you compensate,
The less visible the imbalance becomes.
Because from the outside the structure still stands.
And that allows the dynamic to continue,
Because from the outside the structure still stands.
When someone holds position without carrying responsibility,
The system begins to organize around them in a specific way.
Not because they are building.
But because they are embedded.
Decisions take them into account.
Progress just around the presence.
And that gives them influence.
And not through contribution,
But simply through their placement.
And if that's not addressed,
It becomes part of how the business operates.
So here is what you need to see clearly.
Find yourself in a situation like this.
Because at this point,
This is not just about fairness.
It is about structure.
You need to assess Who is actually building here?
Who is holding the responsibility?
And who is maintaining the foundation?
And then?
Does ownership influence in decision making reflect that reality?
Because if it doesn't,
You are building something that will continue to rely on your compensation.
Now you might be wondering,
So what do I do about it?
This is where you move awareness into action.
First,
You make contribution explicit.
Need to define very clearly what is being delivered.
Who is responsible for what?
And what is carried consistently.
Ameen.
Not assumed but defined,
And second,
You need to align ownership with contribution.
If somebody is no longer contributing at the same level,
And their position needs to reflect that.
And this may involve restructuring equity,
Introducing vesting,
Or redefining authority.
And third,
Address the dynamic directory.
You can name what you are seeing.
And you can name what is not working.
You can set a very clear expectation for what needs to change.
And then you step back and you observe the response.
Because that response will tell you whether alignment is actually possible.
And then,
Finally,
You decide your position.
And if the structure remains misaligned,
Then you need to decide whether you continue building within it.
Let's take a moment and reflect.
Look at your situation directly.
Where are you carrying more than your share?
Where is influence disconnected from contribution?
What are you compensating for?
And what does that cost you over time?
A structure can appear stable while relying heavily on one part to hold it,
But that is not stability.
It is dependency.
If you are building something that needs to last.
The alignment between contribution and position matters,
Because in the end what holds the structure determines whether it can continue.
And that means whether your business remains successful or is even going to happen.
And if this talk resonated with you,
Then please consider sharing it with another business owner who may be navigating a similar situation.
Until next time.
