Bottlenecks
Every system has a choke point. A narrow place where everything slows, backs up, or quietly dies. Most leaders respond by pushing harder — more pressure, more meetings, more urgency. But bottlenecks don’t break under pressure; they reveal under pressure. They’re feedback loops disguised as frustrations.
When you find one, don’t bulldoze it. Study it. It’s showing you where your design, decision-making, or delegation is out of sync with reality.
Patterns I See
Heroic choke points: The founder, exec, or team lead who must approve everything, creating dependence disguised as quality control.
Process gridlock: Overbuilt systems that move slower than the people they’re supposed to support.
Attention deficit: So many priorities that nothing actually gets prioritized.
Invisible resistance: Emotional bottlenecks — fear, mistrust, ego — that stall decisions long before they reach the agenda.
What Leaders Miss
A bottleneck isn’t always bad — it’s where clarity hides.
It shows you what the system actually values and fears.
Every organization grows until it hits the limits of its leader’s design. When the business starts to stall, it’s rarely because the market shifted overnight — it’s because the leader’s mental model didn’t.
The right question isn’t “How do we get around this?”
It’s “What is this bottleneck trying to tell us?”
Working With It
Locate the friction. Map where flow stops. Ask who’s waiting on what — and why.
Name the ownership. Every bottleneck belongs to someone. If it’s you, admit it fast.
Simplify the system. Remove redundant approvals, meetings, or steps. Complexity is a silent killer.
Redesign the flow. Build processes that scale attention, not bureaucracy.
Teach distributed judgment. Train your team to make smart calls without you. Trust is throughput.
Questions Worth Asking
Where does our energy consistently get stuck?
What decision or fear is being avoided in that spot?
If I disappeared for a month, what would stop moving?
What would break if we doubled our speed tomorrow?
Field Truth
Bottlenecks aren’t blockages — they’re mirrors.
They reveal exactly where your growth is being throttled by your design, your fear, or your need for control.
