Welcome back to The COO Solution Podcast. In this solo episode, host Derek Fredrickson tackles a challenge nearly every founder faces at some point: running a business in constant crisis mode.
If your days are filled with urgent decisions, constant interruptions, and putting out fires instead of leading strategically, this episode will feel uncomfortably familiar. Derek breaks down why reactive leadership drains your energy, stalls growth, and keeps your team dependent on you, and more importantly, how to shift into proactive leadership that creates stability, predictability, and freedom.
You’ll learn how strong systems, clear accountability, and the support of a second-in-command can move your business out of survival mode and into sustainable growth.
In This Episode:
[00:00] Crisis Mode Defined
What it looks like when your business is running you instead of the other way around.
[01:16] Why Reactive Leadership Fails
Why urgency feels productive but quietly kills growth, focus, and team performance.
[02:24] The Founder Bottleneck
How scaling without structure turns the CEO into the central point of failure.
[03:40] Signs You’re Stuck in Crisis Mode
Long hours, rushed decisions, inconsistent execution, and a team waiting for direction.
[04:47] The Shift to Proactive Leadership
How to move from reacting to problems to preventing them altogether.
[05:56] Identifying Recurring Chaos
How to spot patterns, recurring emergencies, and energy drains that need systems—not effort.
[06:56] The Role of a Fractional COO
How a trusted second-in-command creates operational stability and protects the founder’s time.
[07:15] What Stability Actually Looks Like
Real-world results when systems, ownership, and decision-making are no longer centralized.
[08:12] The Systems That Stop Firefighting
Why SOPs, workflows, and clear communication eliminate repeat problems.
[09:17] Your Actionable Challenge
Identify three recurring issues this week and assign ownership to one, or build a process for one.
📌 Why This Matters
Running your business in crisis mode isn’t a badge of honor—it’s a warning sign. When everything feels urgent, nothing truly moves forward. Proactive leadership allows you to step out of daily chaos, empower your team, and create a business that runs predictably without your constant involvement.
Stability doesn’t come from working harder. It comes from structure, clarity, and the right support.
✅ Action Steps for Listeners:
- Identify three recurring issues that consume your time every week.
- Assign clear ownership or create a process for at least one of them.
- Document one workflow that currently lives only in your head.
- Consider whether a fractional COO could help you shift from reaction to leadership.
Resources & Links:
Transcript:
00:00
Derek Fredrickson
You know that feeling when your business feels like it’s running you instead of the other way around? Every day is urgent, every decision feels critical, and it seems like there’s never enough time. You’re answering questions, putting out fires, and trying to keep all the moving parts in check. And no matter how hard you work, the chaos never seems to end. I’ve been there. I’ve seen it with hundreds of founders and entrepreneurs that we work with. This is what I call crisis mode. And the truth is, being reactive may feel urgent, but it’s not effective. When your business is structured around firefighting, it drains growth, drains your energy, and keeps your team from performing at their best.
01:16
Derek Fredrickson
So today, we’re going to talk about how to step out of reactive management, lead proactively, and build the stability, predictability, and freedom your business deserves.
Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the COO Solution podcast. I’m your host, Derek Fredrickson, and if you are new here, this show is all about helping founders and business owners build companies that grow because of leadership, systems and structure, not because you’re constantly managing every little detail. At the COO Solution, we see it again and again. Businesses start scaling, things look great from the outside, but inside there’s chaos.
02:24
Derek Fredrickson
Priorities shift constantly, recurring problems never get solved, and the founder becomes the bottleneck. This is crisis mode, and it doesn’t have to be that way. Okay. Our goal today is to show you how to transition from reactive leadership to proactive leadership. How to get ahead of problems, empower your team, and build a business that runs predictably while you focus on vision and growth. Here’s the thing. Reactive leadership might feel urgent, but it’s not effective. You can hire, you can spend, you can hustle, but if your business is constantly in emergency mode, all roads lead back to you. You end up stuck, exhausted, and watching your growth stall. The difference between businesses that scale and those that stall comes down to whether the leadership is proactive and supported by strong systems and accountability.
03:40
Derek Fredrickson
That’s what we’ll explore in today’s episode.
So let’s dive into the four main points on how to stop running your business in a crisis mode and instead lead proactively. Point number one, understanding crisis Mode. Right? Crisis mode happens when your business is constantly reacting. Every task feels urgent, every decision feels like a life or death matter. And your team waits for direction before acting. And as the founder, you become the central hub for everything. So here are some signs that you’re in crisis mode. You’re working long hours, responding to problems instead of leading strategy. Your team doesn’t act independently. Decisions are rushed or inconsistent. The consequences of acting in crisis mode is founder burnout and stress, maybe missed opportunities for strategic growth and an inefficient team and frustration day to day. But here’s the good news. Crisis mode is fixable. Okay?
04:47
Derek Fredrickson
It starts with recognizing the priorities and intentionally shifting your leadership approach. Point number two, shifting to proactive leadership. Proactive leadership is about leading strategically instead of reacting to every situation. It’s about setting priorities, creating processes to manage predictable tasks, and empowering your team to make decisions within a defined framework. It requires a mindset shift. You’re focusing on vision and strategy, not micromanaging daily tasks. You trust your team to execute while you stay ahead of critical priorities. So here’s how to start. First, identify recurring emergencies and patterns of chaos. Things that come up every single day that drain your energy, drain your effort, drain your time. And map out which issues your team or systems can handle. And then, with the help of a coo, put processes in place to prevent the same problems from repeating again and again.
05:56
Derek Fredrickson
Proactive leadership frees you to focus on growth, innovation and opportunities instead of constantly putting out daily fires. Point number three is how a COO, a second in command chief operating officer, creates stability. Okay. Even expert CEOs need COOs, right? Embedding a fractional COO or second in command isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a smart move to create stability and predictability. Here’s why. This is what a trusted second in command COO does. They translate your vision into operational priorities. They ensure processes and accountability are in place, and they monitor recurring issues so you’re not involved in every single decision. The benefits are reduced emergencies and unpredictable problems. They go away.
07:15
Derek Fredrickson
There’s more team alignment and empowered execution and more focus for the founder, you, on strategic growth. Listen, we’ve worked with founders who have spent 50 hours a week or more in firefighting. But when a COO is embedded into the day to day of the organization systems are strengthened to decisions are clear and the business runs smoothly. The founder CEO reclaims their time and energy to lead instead of react.
And point number four, these are the steps to stop firefighting. Here’s what to do first. Number one, audit recurring crises. Identify patterns and root causes. Why is this happening? And maybe ask your question instead of why is this happening for me, instead of to me, right?
08:12
Derek Fredrickson
And with that perspective, with the help of a COO, we can implement proactive systems, SOPs, standard operating procedures, checklists, and automated workflows for communication or collaboration. Listen, systems aren’t sexy, okay? I know. But they are the key to long term scale and success. The second step is to define roles and responsibilities, make it clear who owns what. This is what we call a culture of accountability, ensuring that team members take ownership and responsibility for their work. Step number three. Establish regular review cadence, weekly check-ins and performance metrics. It doesn’t have to be much effort, okay, once a quarter, maybe once a month with key team members and have real honest, open conversations about what’s working and what’s not. And then step number four is embed a COO Chief Operating Officer to support your organization.
09:17
Derek Fredrickson
Someone to manage operations so you can focus on leadership. Your trusted second in command is to help you get out of this fight or flight model. They own the day to day completely so you don’t have to.
These steps create a framework that lets your business operate predictably, efficiently and independently of you being in every single decision.
So here’s your challenge for today to get out of crisis mode. Okay, Take a look at your business and identify perhaps three recurring issues that consume your time and then assign ownership or create a process for each and pick one of those recurring issues that create this crisis mode this week and observe the impact on your focus and your growth. Leading proactively isn’t about doing everything yourself.
10:17
Derek Fredrickson
It’s about creating clarity, structure and freedom so you can focus on what truly moves the business forward.
Listen if today’s episode helped you see how crisis mode is slowing your growth, hit subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes and maybe share this with another business owner, founder or entrepreneur you know who is stuck in reactive mode.
listen if you’re curious if a trusted COO from the COO solution could help you stop firefighting and start leading proactively. Take our free quiz at the coosolution.com and get a personalized report to understand.
11:07
Derek Fredrickson
Perhaps if now is the right time to consider bringing on the game changing support of a trusted fractional COO and listen, maybe send me a DM or an email and let me know what your biggest operational challenge is. I’ll share some ideas to help you start leading proactively immediately. Okay, listen, thanks for tuning in to the COO Solution podcast.
And remember, you built your business for freedom, growth and impact, and proactive leadership is the key to getting there. I’m Derek Fredrickson and this is the COO Solution.