Are You the Bottleneck in Your Own Company?

Guest: Are you the bottleneck in your own company? Most founders don't realize they are the problem. They think they are leading, but they are actually constraining their own growth. In this video, I'm going to show you three revealing signs that you have become the constraint and what to do about it.

Host: Welcome to Health Tech Growth, the weekly podcast for healthcare founders and innovators, where we explore essential strategies to create successful and sustainable healthcare startups that improve patient outcomes and transform the healthcare industry.

Guest: Here's the, uh, uncomfortable truth. You're building this company. You know it better than anyone. So naturally you think every decision needs to run through you. But here's what really happens. Nothing moves without your approval. Your team waits for you to solve every problem. And you cannot unplug, um, without things stalling. But get this. This isn't leadership. This is over functioning. And it's the difference between building a scalable business and building an expensive job. Sign number one. Nothing moves forward without your approval. Every decision awaits for you. Your team, your co founder, your board member asks permission for things they should own. You have become the gatekeeper, not the leader. Why does this happen? Because you build a company you think you know best. And maybe you do. But here's the cost. Slow decision making, missed opportunities, and a team that's disengaged because they're not empowered to think for themselves. Your team waits for you to solve every problem. They bring you problems now. Solutions. You are the default answer to everything. Your calendar is full of quick questions that aren't quick at all. You probably have a lot of quick questions. Slack messages too. Here's why this is happening. You train them to depend on you. Every time you jump in with the answer, you reinforce that pattern. The cost. You're doing their thinking. Then why would you pay them or share equity with them? They're not developing skills and you're stuck in the weeds. Instead of leading at the strategic level. You cannot unplug without things stalling. Vacation means work stops while you're on vacation. You still check slacks and emails constantly because things fall apart without you. The business runs on you, not systems. This happens because you haven't built infrastructure or empowered leadership and the cause is massive burned out. And uh, if you're expecting your co, founder or your partner with even funding the person to replace you and doing the same thing as you, they will also burn out. No exit strategy and a, uh, business that cannot scale beyond your personal capacity. This is the true red flag for majority of investors looking at your company. If you recognize Yourself in these signs. Here's what you need to hear. Slow, deliberate delivery. You are not leading. You are over functioning. You build an expensive job for yourself, not a scalable business. And this isn't uh, about working harder, it's about working differently. So what does leadership actually look like? Over functioning looks like being the answer to everything. You jump in to speak before someone even stops talking. You're trying to control every decision and want to be in every single room when those decisions are made and believing that it's faster if I just do it. Now. True leadership looks like empowering others to make their own decisions, building systems that work without you, and developing your team's capacity to solve problems on their own. The real question is, are you building a business or a job? A scalable business has systems and processes, although some people have no idea what that even looks like. For us, the very first thing whenever we create a new campaign, new event in new initiative is writing a sop. How do we think is the best way to do this? That is a system. And you sign people to each role in the each step, thinking about what they already do and what they good at, that becomes a process. Therefore, when you come to think about what this system process can do for you and create a KPI immeasurable end result you wanted to achieve, then the team operates independently. It can grow without you being in every decision. An expensive job requires you for everything. It stops when you stop and it cannot be sold or scaled. That means you have no exit plan. There is a shift from bottleneck to leader to become a true leader and stop over functioning. I think you get the gist. And if you're ready to make that shift, I want to invite you to pitch to YES Workshop. This is where we can help you craft the right messages that so clear your teen can run with it without you caring at all. Because at uh, the end of the day, if your team have no idea what you're trying to tell them, that means they will not do anything. And the same thing if the investors are not understanding what you are trying to create. Your true margins, your projected financials. The right people are doing the right things. They are also going to back away. When your pitch is dialed in, your influence will become massive. You don't have to be the one explaining it all every single time. Check the link in the description below or click just go to pitchtoyes.com or type pitch in the comment and we'll send you the registration link. Type pitch. Stop being the bottleneck. I'm sure you've been carrying so much weight on your shoulder and it's not fun. Start being the leader you company need you to be.

Host: Thank you for listening to Health Tech Growth. If you're a health care tech innovator or founder interested in being a featured guest on our show, or visit HealthTechGrowth IO to learn more.