Be the Bottleneck
Photo by Aayush Srivastava
A Leader's Guide to Discouraging People, Diminishing Trust, and Damaging Culture
Be the Bottleneck
Description: The leader is the primary individual responsible for things not flowing well. Perhaps they do not make decisions in a timely fashion, or maybe they simply do not answer emails or voicemails. Regardless, tasks and progress grinds to a halt because of them. They are the bottleneck.
This One Time: This one time, I reached out four times to my supervisor for an answer so I could proceed with a task. We would see each other in meetings, and they rarely said, “Oh, hey, I will get that to you.” They just pretended as if the emails were never sent. It was hard to believe.
Making it Worse: The leader consistently serves as the bottleneck and then complains because things are not moving quickly enough, people are not excited enough, or team members are not stepping up to take on tasks.
The Leader Loses: Credibility, high performers, and enthusiasm among team members.
Followers Think: “We were waiting on you." "You have not responded to multiple requests." "Make a decision, please!”
At the Water Cooler: “I have reached out to him three times now, and he does not respond,” “I am staying away from that dysfunction at all costs.”
Effective Leadership: Great managers respond to requests and work to remove roadblocks. They make the work flow. They respond to messages and make decisions in a timely fashion. If multiple people cannot do their work because they are waiting for you, then you may be the problem.
In most organizations, the bottleneck is at the top of the bottle. - Peter Drucker