247. Leading Beyond the Day-to-Day with Ben and Cody from 5 Star Interpreting
In this coaching episode, Adrienne Dorison and Emily Doyle sit down with Ben and Cody, co-founders of 5 Star Interpreting, to tackle a challenge many visionary founders face: what does your role become when the business runs without you?
If you’ve ever felt unsure of how to stay involved at a strategic level without slipping back into the day-to-day, this one’s for you.
Here’s what we cover:
✅ Why “letting go” doesn’t mean disappearing
✅ How to build metrics that matter (and get your team to own them)
✅ Navigating partnership dynamics when your working styles clash
✅ Identifying the high-leverage work only you can do
✅ What a fully developed right-hand leader can unlock
Ben and Cody share how their values-driven business model — serving the Deaf community across Utah, Illinois, and beyond — continues to thrive thanks to a strong team.
But with growth comes a new challenge: redefining their leadership roles to focus on vision, alignment, and long-term impact.
Hit play for a powerful conversation on leadership evolution, co-founder communication, and building a business that runs without you — but still reflects you.
Top 5 Takeaways:
Redefine Leadership – You don’t have to leave your business to scale. You just need to lead differently.
Design Your Dashboard – Tracking what matters helps you manage without meddling.
Strengthen the Middle – Develop your internal leaders so they’re solving problems before they reach you.
Own Your Zone – Decide which high-value activities are truly yours — and delegate the rest.
Stay Aligned – Founders don’t need to agree on everything, but alignment on vision is non-negotiable.
Chapters:
01:02 – Meet Ben and Cody + What Five Star Interpreting does
03:24 – The challenge: leading without doing
07:10 – Why the same metrics won’t get them to the next level
12:58 – Building trust through dashboards + team decision-making
19:42 – Reframing leadership roles as visionaries
25:06 – Personality conflicts + Enneagram insights
31:22 – Developing their right-hand leader for operational autonomy
35:44 – Takeaways + next steps from the session