How Ego Sabotages Team Growth in the Restoration Industry

Hiring small to protect your ego? Learn why restoration leaders must hire up, not down, if they want to build a company that scales without them.

You want a team you can trust. So why is it so hard to build one?

Most restoration owners didn’t set out to be CEOs.
They just got really good at the work.

Then the calls kept coming.
Jobs piled up.
And the team grew around them — not because they planned it, but because they had to.

Now, they’re buried.
Chained to their own business.
And wondering why no one on the team seems to “step up.”

Here’s why:
You hired for comfort.
Not capability.

You’re not alone. Most owners do this.

David Ogilvy once wrote a memo to his leadership team that said:

“If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs.
But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants.”

Translation:
Hire people who challenge you, or settle for a business that can’t grow past you.

Here’s what happens when you don’t:

• You stay in control.

• You feel needed.

• You never get real freedom.

It’s not a “bad” ego. It’s just the part of your brain that’s afraid of being replaced.
You worked hard to build this thing — and handing over the reins feels risky.

But that risk?
That’s the door to growth.

The Restoration Bottleneck No One Talks About

This industry is full of owners who used to be the best tech in the company.

That identity doesn’t go away overnight.

So what happens?

You keep hiring people who rely on you.
People who won’t push back.
People who make you feel like “the expert.”

And it feels good — until it doesn’t.

Because:

• You’re still doing the estimating.

• You’re the only one who understands the margin math.

• You’re the only one building relationships with adjusters.

You didn’t hire a team.
You hired assistants.
And now you’re stuck.

Here’s what changes everything

Start hiring people you’re a little intimidated by.

Seriously.
Hire the ops manager who’s sharper than you.
Hire the sales rep who’s closed bigger deals.
Hire the estimator who sees things you miss.

Will it challenge your identity? Yes.
Will it be uncomfortable? For sure.
But if you're serious about building a business that runs without you, this is the path.

You don’t need to be the best at everything.
You need to build the team that is.

From Hero to Builder

Right now, you’re the technician and the general manager and the visionary.
That’s not leadership — that’s survival.

Great leaders know how to get out of the way.

They build systems.
They hire giants.
They stop protecting their ego and start protecting their future.

This Isn’t About Character.

It’s About Capacity.

If your team can’t run without you, your business isn’t built to scale.
If your name is on every file, every invoice, every email — you’ve got a job, not a company.

Want freedom?
Want time?
Want real growth?

Then hire people who push you.
Not people who praise you.

One Question to Sit With

“Am I hiring people who raise the standard… or people who preserve my status?”

Only one of those leads to a business that runs without you.

P.S.

If this hit you in the gut a little, good.
That’s where growth starts.

At Restoration Advisers, we help owners break this cycle — and build teams that don’t need babysitting.
Not with theory. With systems. With coaching. With accountability.

If you’re ready, subscribe and join the a high quality, no bs community of like minded restoration professionals:
👉 Restoration Business Academy