Are you a bottleneck?

It’s tempting as a founder to hold onto operational tasks…

Until you hold on for too long and it prevents you from reaching the next level. That’s when being a bottleneck stalls your progress and growth. 

You plateau, and feel burnout on a daily basis.

You feel guilt, knowing your business can’t grow when everybody else is waiting for you to make a decision or get something done… 

But you keep holding on, remembering the early days when you had to be in survival mode to stay in business.

I’ve been guilty of staying in survivor mode too long. 

So have you. 

You take on too much work because you’re good at it and love what you do! 

After all, you’re the most capable person in your company. 

That’s why you started your business in the first place.

While you remember the past fondly, your present is a nightmare. 

Because you didn’t master the skill of delegation. 

You know the key to growth is empowering your team to succeed through training and documentation, so you can be freed up to unlock new growth opportunities.

I’m giving you permission to do just that. 

Think of yourself as a Chief Research & Development Officer.

First, record yourself doing repetitive tasks on video. 

Narrate each step, show completion and thought processes, but don’t write a single word yourself. 

Next, pass the video to the team member who will become responsible for that function. 

Ask them to review the video and create the documentation that captures the process in full. 

Have them do the work and follow the checklist, fixing what’s missing or needs refinement.

Let them own process creation and improvement.

When they advance in their role? They record themselves doing the task and hand it over to the next team member.

Following this handoff approach eliminates bottlenecks. 

It breeds accountability and confidence by letting team members build and improve the process.

Team members feel more ownership by creating workflows themselves, even if guided by your example.

Cede control of documentation and free yourself.

Empower your team to sink or swim. 

Let your A-players shine.

Have them refine processes through experience.

Being a bottleneck is a survival mindset relic, not a hopeless trap. 

When you get yourself out of the way, you unlock your team’s potential and your company’s next-level growth.