The bottleneck is on the top

Over many years, I have caught myself in many a situation or have been made aware by others while I was in that situation just about this point - "the bottleneck is on the top".

Personally speaking, the top is your own head ! As I write my 100th article published on #Linkedin I can so vouch for this point. While I have a multitude of thoughts and few perspectives that I would like to share I never did have the confidence or the discipline to write and it was only after persistent support (read nagging!) by Chandni Mehta did I actually start to write.

I also ran my own organization and it was just like having a baby. It made me a paranoid mother who firmly believed no one else can take care of my baby as well as I could. While this may be true (just a micromanagers view !) I also realized I was the bottleneck to the growth of my business.

After my own experiences I have started to empathize with every leader who I can see stuck in this trap. Its like a self-failing prophecy ! You can have big dreams, put behind them great plans, sketch out amazing strategies and then fail cause you are the bottleneck! Its not about trust or faith (at least it wasn't for me) but its firstly about this awareness and then learning to Let Go. You cannot scale up if you are the only resource or if you insist on doing everything yourself..

I recently read, Delegation is the courage to release a task to someone who will do it at best 80% as well as you.

Also another one with a slightly different dimension is from Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group “I surround myself with people who have knowledge and talents in areas where I might not be so well versed.” 

This is important for self as its about growing your organization - Your friends should motivate and inspire you, Your circle should be well rounded and supportive keep it tight. Quality over Quantity always.

Are you the Bottleneck for achieving the next level for yourself?

As a species we've somehow survived large and small ice ages, genetic bottlenecks, plagues, world wars, and all manner of natural disasters but I sometimes wonder if we'll survive our own ingenuity - Diane Ackerman