Hey CEO – Are You the Bottleneck?

In my experience, there usually is a time when the organization outgrows its entrepreneur. What does this mean? Basically, it means that the founder’s skills, expertise, or leadership style may no longer be sufficient to drive the company forward. Because of this phenomenon, the organization’s leader may become a bottleneck. In other words, the leader is in the way of the smooth flow of operations and decision-making which can have a negative impact on the entire organization. As a business coach, you can imagine that it requires some hard conversations when the company’s founder and leader is the cause of the bottleneck. But before having those conversations, I help identify the specific bottlenecks and their root causes.

Common Issues

A business leader can be the cause of bottlenecks in several ways:

Micromanagement – The leader involves themselves in every decision and task. Micromanagement not only limits the progress of the entire management team, but it also prevents employees from taking ownership of their own work. Having clearly defined roles for each employee and holding them accountable is key to a company’s success. However, if the leader is involved in every detail, this becomes impossible.
Prioritization – Without clear priorities from the leader there is often confusion and disarray within the organization. This lack of focus can result in conflicting tasks and objectives, ultimately slowing down progress. The same holds true if the leader keeps moving the goalposts by changing priorities.
Delegation – Similar to micromanagement, when the leader is reluctant to delegate responsibilities and tasks, they become a central point for all decisions and actions. This can create a bottleneck as the leader becomes overwhelmed with tasks, resulting in delays and inefficiencies. This also results in the leader not getting more time back to focus on the company vision and growth strategy.
Adaptation – Sometimes entrepreneurs and business leaders cannot see the reasons to make necessary changes. We all know the adage, “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.” However, this approach can really limit a business from reaching its full potential. For example, refusing to adopt new processes, technologies, or approaches that could streamline operations can create unnecessary bottlenecks.
Resources – When the business leader doesn’t provide the necessary resources, tools, or support to their team, it can impede their ability to work efficiently. Insufficient staffing, outdated technology, or inadequate training can all contribute to bottlenecks slowing down productivity.
Communication - If a leader fails to communicate effectively with the team or provides unclear instructions, it can lead to misunderstandings, rework, and delays. Poor communication channels or a lack of transparency can further contribute to bottlenecks.

Working with the Entrepreneur

One of the main reasons I became a certified Scaling Up coach is because I was once the entrepreneur who was outgrown by my business. In fact, this happened to me several times. However, most of us in this boat do not have the benefit of hindsight. I do want to pass along the many lessons that I learned on my journey. Therefore, when I work with entrepreneurs, I first conduct an extensive analysis of the leader’s strengths, weaknesses, skills, and expertise. This analysis helps me to determine if there are any bottlenecks and if they are caused by the leader. At the end of the day, I want to know if the leader can lead the organization to the next level.

Sometimes, the analysis shows that the leader is not the cause of any bottlenecks and is the right person for the job. But more often than not, I learn that the leader needs to make some changes for the benefit of the entire organization.

When the analysis identifies issues, I next work with the leader on solutions. This is when the hard discussions begin.

Bottlenecks Be Gone

Of course, every situation and every leader is different. However, based on my experience, there are some things that can be done to alleviate bottlenecks caused by a company’s leader. Examples of solutions are as follows:

Coach up the leader to develop new skills or improve on existing ones. Some old dogs can learn new tricks – those willing to change can adapt to the changing needs of the company.
Encourage the leader to delegate more tasks and responsibilities to other managers or executives within the organization. This allows them to focus on strategic decision-making and high-level leadership while empowering others to take ownership of day-to-day operations. If delegation is not possible because the leader does not trust the team, other issues must be addressed. In this instance, we address getting the right people in the right positions doing the right jobs.
Discuss the hiring or promotion of additional leaders who possess the skills and experience needed to navigate the organization’s current growth phase. Potential candidates can work WITH the leader while bringing fresh perspectives, complementary expertise, and a unique skill set to handle specific challenges.
Change the leader’s role altogether to evolve with the company’s growth. Perhaps the leader and the organization would be better off in a visionary or ambassadorial role instead of handling day-to-day operations. Or maybe, they could focus more on business development and selling.

Ultimately, the goal is to ensure the organization has the right leadership in place to drive its growth and meet the demands of the market. I know it is hard for the leader to know and admit when they are causing the bottleneck. As I said before, I know it as I was that leader. I just wish I had a coach that could have made me see the light. Addressing these issues would have made my businesses more profitable, scalable, and my people more productive. It would have also made my processes more efficient. Learn from me by giving me a call!