You are the Bottleneck

From the day you started this company, you were the one driving it forward. You were the one encouraging everyone, inspiring people, putting in that extra effort, challenging the team to take that extra step, to do more, to be more. In a lot of ways, you were dragging the team forward. And then one day you wake up and the team is now waiting for you. You no longer have the ability to keep up with the things that you drove when the company was smaller. And as you’ve succeeded and grown, there’s a backlog at your desk and you are slowing things down. On the one hand, this is great, right? This is what you wanted. The team has momentum, it’s moving forward, but you gotta get out of the way. So here are three things for you to work on to make that happen.

Say Less:
First, it’s time to be willing to no longer be the talk track for your business. All of the ideas, all of the direction don’t have to come from you. And it’s a habit that you probably are really comfortable with and may not even realize how much people are really depending on your thoughts, your direction, your improvements, your decisions. So it’s time for you to consciously step away from that and let other people, make those decisions or choose those things or communicate those things on their own. Find ways to say less.

Do Less:
And do less. Don’t show up at every meeting on, you know, on purpose. Take that week off and let other people figure it out. I worked with the CEO of a fast growing business from 10, he was on his way from 10 million to 20 million to beyond. And in the midst of that, he did an amazing job of stepping away for a week at a time and not over-directing people when, for when he was gone and not taking calls. And people had to figure things out. And the team grew so much from the challenge of making things worth, work without him being there.

Trust More:
And then third, you need to let go of the responsibility for things and trust the people on your team to take on things that until now you’ve decided you needed to cling to and, and own and be accountable for. Spread that accountability. Hold them accountable, yes, but don’t be the responsible one for everything.

B2B Clarity:
The good news here is if you can take these steps, not only will you accelerate the business, your life is gonna be more balanced because you won’t be trying to do more than really you should be doing.