Category: Founder Psychology / Succession Planning Read Time: 4 Minutes
You’ve likely seen the drama unfold in series like This City is Mine. The “top dog” fights tooth and nail to hold onto their territory. They operate with a single, driving mindset: “I built this. This is mine. I am the only one who can run it.”
It makes for gripping television but unfortunately in the real world, It makes for a disastrous business exit.
For many founders I speak to across Essex, specifically those wrestling with what we call the Identity Void, this mindset isn’t about greed. It’s about fear of waking up on monday morning and no longer wearing the “captain’s armband.”
If you scored high on “Identity Fusion” in our quiz, your business isn’t just an asset; it’s who you are. But here is the hard truth that This City is Mine teaches us: if you make yourself indispensable, you make your business unsellable.
The “Unhealthy Competition” Trap
In the show, the leader’s refusal to let go creates a toxic culture below them. Because there is no clear plan for the future, the lieutenants aren’t collaborating; they are fighting for scraps.
I see this in construction and manufacturing firms all the time. When the owner insists on making every decision from the big contracts down to the van rotas they stunt the growth of their management team.
This creates Unhealthy Competition:
- Your managers stop working for the business and start working for your approval.
- Information gets siloed because “knowledge is power.”
- Potential successors leave because they can’t see a path to the top.
You end up with a team of followers, not leaders. And when you finally decide to sell, a buyer looks at the lack of leaders and sees a massive risk. If you leave, the “city” crumbles.
The Power Vacuum
The central tragedy in these dramas is always the same: The leader is removed (or leaves), and because they didn’t groom a successor, chaos ensues.
This is the Identity Void in action. You sabotage your own succession planning because subconsciously, you want to be the only one who can save the day. It validates your identity as the Boss.
But a legacy isn’t built by being the star player forever. It’s built by becoming the coach.
From “Star Player” to “Benched Captain”
If you are terrified of the “blank calendar” after you sell, the solution isn’t to grip the steering wheel tighter. It is to change your role before you leave.
Think of it as moving from the pitch to the dugout.
Your new “Act” isn’t about doing the work; it’s about developing the people who will do it better than you. This solves two problems at once:
- It fixes the business: You replace unhealthy internal competition with a structured leadership plan. You create a business that works without you, which immediately increases your valuation.
- It fixes the Void: You find a new purpose. You aren’t “losing” your identity as the boss; you are evolving into a Mentor and a Strategist. You get the satisfaction of seeing your team step up, proving that what you built is strong enough to last.
The Monday Morning Test
The characters in This City is Mine are usually driven by ego. But the best founders in Essex are driven by pragmatism.
Ask yourself: If you didn’t show up for a month, would your team step up, or would they turn on each other?
If the answer worries you, you don’t just have a management problem. You have an Identity problem. You are holding on to the chaos because it makes you feel needed.
It’s time to stop defending your territory and start building your legacy.
Struggling to figure out “Who am I if I’m not the Boss?”
You don’t have to solve this alone. I have trained a private digital tool to help founders explore their “Third Act” confidentially. It won’t give you corporate jargon—just straight answers based on real coaching scenarios.
Ask the Founder’s Compass: “How do I stop being the bottleneck?”