What Firing Myself Taught Me About Playing to Your Strengths

Two years ago, I fired myself.

Not from my company. From my role as CEO.

Here's why.

After my brain injury, my executive functions were impaired. The very skills that made me good at being a CEO - quick decision-making, multitasking, thinking on my feet - were no longer reliable.

I tried to power through.

Developed coping strategies. Created systems. Found workarounds.

But you can't strategy your way out of a core mismatch.

My co-founders could see me struggling. They held up the mirror. And I realised something profound:

I no longer fit the archetype of a startup CEO.

Smooth talking. Fast thinking. High energy. Always on.

That wasn't me anymore.

So I let go. Fired myself as CEO. Moved into the COO role.

And something magical happened.

While I struggled with CEO-type tasks, I became even better at COO ones.

I developed a new love for numbers. Details. Systems. Processes. All the stuff I used to find boring became fascinating.

The brain injury had changed not just my limitations, but my strengths.

Most people think playing to your strengths means doing what you've always been good at.

That's not always true.

Sometimes life reshuffles your deck. Sometimes your strengths shift. Sometimes what you thought was your weakness becomes your superpower.

I now help micro-brands with exactly the operational stuff I once ran away from. The detailed, systematic work that requires patience and precision.

Work that suits who I am now.

Not who I used to be.

Here's what I learned:

Strength isn't fixed.

It evolves. It adapts. Sometimes it emerges from what looks like limitation.

The micro-brand founders I work with often struggle with this. They built their business around one version of themselves. But they've grown. Changed. Learned.

And they're still trying to operate from their old strengths.

The creative founder who's become operationally minded but still thinks they "should" focus only on creative work.

The detail-oriented founder who's developed strategic thinking but believes they're "not a big picture person."

Your business needs who you are now.

Not who you were when you started.

Playing to your strengths isn't about rigidly sticking to what worked before.

It's about honestly assessing what works now.

What energises you? What feels effortless? What do others seek your help with?

Those are your current strengths.

I fired myself because I was clinging to an old version of my capabilities.

The best decision I ever made was embracing the new ones.

What version of yourself is your business missing?