The Hidden Tax on Growth

Issue #024

This week's strategic brief (3-minute read)

Hi Reader,

You track every line item in your budget—salaries, subscriptions, event spends. But one cost category slips through: the hidden tax on growth.

It cost my team months of productivity and nearly $200,000 in revenue. And it's draining yours, too.

These aren't flashy expenses. They hide inside the problems your team can't fix alone. They are barriers that compound while you're focused on the next big thing.

When Hidden Costs Become Visible

Last month, a manager told me a sponsorship activation request “could not be supported.” It was a standard deliverable that represented more than $200,000 in revenue.

Frustrated, I dug in.

The root cause surprised me: another department had misinterpreted a content policy. My team didn't have the authority to challenge it. They tried to find workarounds, but nothing moved forward.

The problem wasn't a lack of effort – it was a lack of authority.

While I focused on other priorities, three invisible costs grew every week.

The Three Costs That Hold Back Growth

1. The Coordination Tax

Hours lost troubleshooting, duplicating efforts, and meeting about the same issue.

Real cost: time wasted navigating obstacles instead of fundraising.

2. The Bottleneck Tax

Sticky issues require executive-to-executive alignment. Creativity won’t fix misalignment.

Real cost: stalled momentum on work that can only move when you step in.

3. The Leadership Tax

Once I saw the real issue, I spent 10 hours fixing it: meetings with senior leaders, understanding the root cause, and creating a new process.

Real cost: executive time wasted late in the game, instead of being invested early to prevent months of drag.

The True Cost of Those Months

The stall didn’t just hit the P&L.
Sponsor trust wavered. Pipeline slowed. Team morale slipped.
And the opportunities we never pursued? Those were the most expensive.

My 10-hour intervention? A bargain compared to the fallout.

The Framework: Your Hidden Tax Audit

Don’t wait for something to break. Run this 4-question audit quarterly to find issues early.

1. Where is your team stuck?

Not what they are doing, but what keeps resurfacing. Look for recurring themes, workarounds, and projects that never move forward.

2. What requires your authority?

Some barriers need your presence, peer-level negotiation, or organizational influence. Look for cross-department misalignment, policy confusion, and resource disputes.

3. What is the cost of waiting?

Add it all up. Think about revenue not pursued, relationships deteriorating, morale slipping, and capacity drained.

4. Is this a one-time issue or systemic problem?

Fix the barrier and the process. My 3-hour SOP will prevent repeats.

The Mindset Shift

Most think: “My team should handle this so I can focus on strategy.”

Leaders who scale think, "My intervention now unlocks months of velocity later."

Hidden taxes are not random inefficiencies. They're signs of barriers your team can't remove on its own. When staff are:

• Creating workarounds
• Repeating the same frustrations in 1:1s
• Stuck in fulfillment instead of pursuing new prospects

…it's not a people problem.

It's a systems problem.

And the tax bill is more than you think.

Next Week's Quick Win

Run your hidden tax audit. In your next three 1:1s, ask:

“What is slowing you down that you cannot solve yourself?”

If you hear the same theme twice, block two hours to resolve it.

Sneak Peek: Your 2026 Growth OS

This is System Zero in our new 12-part series, launching Jan 5: The Chief Fundraiser Operating System. We'll unpack the 12 frameworks to build unbreakable growth machines. First up: Crushing Hidden Constraints.

Your Turn

If something in your operation has been moving slower than it should, share what you're noticing. I'll help you troubleshoot the patterns.

Until next week,
Christine

P.S. Leaders don’t tolerate silent drag. They audit, act, and accelerate. What’s your first audit question?