Remember when we talked about not being the bottleneck?

And how important it is for the company to be able to move fast?

But here we are…2 months after I gave you the keys to the speed castle, and you still feel totally bogged down.

What’s going on???

Why are you still getting in your own way?

Let’s take a look at 4 common ways a founder or startup leader might be unintentionally slowing things down…and how to fix it!

1. Seagull Management

What’s seagull management, you ask?

1. My favorite business term.

2. My least favorite business practice.

3. Defined as: swooping in and shitting all over everything!

The key to a successful anti-bottleneck campaign is you.

You cannot delegate and second guess every decision.

You cannot hand off a project and then redo everyone’s hard work at the very end.

If there is something absolutely awful and it’s very important, then by all means, get in and fix it.

(Even better: use it as a teaching opportunity or improve and clarify the process!)

If it’s simply not how you would do it or it’s 90% as good as what you would have done, make like Elsa and spend energy on more important things.

Remember: you made mistakes along the way also! 😉

2. One-and-Done Mindset

Congratulations!

You audited, delegated, documented, and let the people around you succeed!

Sit back, relax, and prepare for…your problems to happen all over again.

Wait whaaaaaa?

No productivity strategy is set-it-and-forget-it, especially not in a fast-moving startup.

You will forever be in your own way if you delegate, optimize, or streamline once and expect to be done.

You *MUST* revisit your priorities, time allocation, and what you’re delegating (or not) on a regular basis!

3. The Fun Thing

Learning constantly can be really energizing. But it can also be really hard.

You suck. A lot.

All founders —regardless of stage and success level — are fighting imposter syndrome and hoping they grow fast enough to keep up with their company.

When everything feels hard, you desperately want to do something easy:

“Let me jump back in and code. I know I’m good at that. It’s way easier than selling enterprise deals and I like feeling that I’m good at something for a change.

It’s human nature to do things you like and are good at.

There’s also an aspect of fun.

Most founders like new, fun, innovative things. Doing big company things like annual planning or board meetings can feel booooorrrrring.

But hurts the company if the founder is distracted.

We’ve all seen it.

The founder that goes down a random rabbit hole of “cool new technology,” codes an unneeded feature over the weekend, or rides-along on a sales deal to show they “still got it.”

Listen, I’m all for productive procrastination.😉

But watch out for too many “fun” things that don’t help the company!

4. Helping Too Much

Founders genuinely love their team and want to create a great work environment.

If things are insanely busy or someone is struggling, a founder’s natural inclination is to jump in and help!

You set the example that no job is too small.

You roll up your sleeves to get things done no matter what.

I love this. To a point.

Here’s when it becomes problematic…

When you, as the founder and CEO, are not getting the most important things done — that only YOU can do.

It’s often referred to as “the best and highest use of your time.”

If you’re busy answering support tickets, you’re not talking to investors or doing strategy sessions with the largest customers.

And no one can do that but YOU!

You think you’re helping but often your team wondering:

Why are they jumping in on support tickets? I want them to be raising money! I can handle the tickets but I can’t fill the coffers.

The other downside — “helping” everyone can put you on the verge of burnout or make you annoyed, tired and sluggish. Everyone wants their CEO to be firing on all cylinders!

The Fix

You know you’re the problem. What do you do next???

1. Knowing is half the battle! Sounds silly but often people don’t realize they are doing these things or the “why” behind them. Once they read this blog (hint hint) or someone points it out, they have an “ah-ha” moment.

2. Stress makes it worse. When I’m stressed, I hyper-focus on details. I often miss an obvious solution because I’m too deep in the weeds. Since I know I do this, I can combat it. I force myself to zoom out, or ask a trusted “big picture” friend to see what I’m missing.

3. Reframe it. Rewrite the narrative from “my company needs me” to “the best CEOs give their team freedom” and “the fastest way to exponential growth is to get out of the way.” Your measure of success evolves. When things run smoothly without you, it’s not a threat to your self-worth, it’s a huge win!

4. Enlist an ally. Is there someone at work who can be honest with you when you’re getting in your own way? Point out your seagull management or procrastination? Ask them to tell you if you’re falling into old habits. Clarify when and how you want them to communicate it.

5. Hire a coach. Or join a peer/founder accountability group. The structure, strategies, accountability, and coaching can be transformational. Just ask other CEOs.

Have you gotten in your own way or become the bottleneck? How did you fix it? Have you ever done the fun thing instead of the hard, productive thing? (I have! 🙋‍♀️)