Many managers are promoted into a management position for a bunch of very good reasons. The chances are that it was a combination of things including:
- They’re reliable.
- They’re trusted.
- They’ve effective.
- They have high standards.
They’re the person who you could depend on when things needed to get done.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth that catches many leaders by surprise when they get promoted:
The very strengths that get you promoted can quietly become constraints once you’re leading a team. Or as I love to say sometimes:
What got you here, won’t get you there.
It’s not because you’re a bad leader. It’s simply because the role has changed and your habits haven’t quite caught up yet.
How bottlenecks can form without anyone noticing
Most leadership bottlenecks don’t come from ego or control.
Far from it, they actually come from care or wanting to help. They come from wanting things to be done well and from feeling responsible.
There are a few patterns and behaviours that can lead to these bottlenecks forming.
Holding decisions for too long
You may hold off making a decision (even simple ones) because you want to think it through properly and ensure that you make the right call.
It may feel like the biggest decision in the world to you, whereas it’s actually not that big a deal.
Meanwhile, your team is waiting for a decision and are a little confused because it doesn’t seem that complicated to them.
What feels like careful consideration to you often feels like delay to them.
Reworking other people’s output
When reviewing work from your team, you can’t help but see how it could be better. You know the required standard of work and that it’s way quicker to tweak it yourself rather than explain to your team.
But over time, this sends an unintended message:
“I don’t fully trust you to finish this without me.”
Your team’s confidence will quietly erode over time and get to a point where they won’t complete any work without you.
They become reliant on you.
Becoming the default escalation point
Leading on from this, it’s very easy to slowly but surely become the default escalation point for all problems that your team can’t solve on their own.
Questions come to you first.
Decisions funnel upwards.
Small issues that your team could solve on their own get sent to you unnecessarily.
This is because you’ve solved these problems well in the past.
But every time you step in too quickly, you train the team to stop thinking independently.
Staying too close to everything
This is a very common behaviour from managers (old and new) which can lead to you becoming a bottleneck for your team.
The frustrating part of this is that it often comes from a good place – you just want to help or you just want visibility of what’s going on. You may just enjoy the work.
But proximity can turn into dependency, especially during high pressure projects or situations.
What starts as involvement slowly becomes interference.
The key point to take away from all of these examples is that most bottlenecks are created by leaders who care deeply – not by leaders who want control.
This is why they’re so hard to spot.
The impact on teams (and on you)
When a leader becomes a bottleneck, the effects ripple outwards.
The consequences can be quite subtle at first but over time, things can compound and it feels very hard to reverse the problems. And as we’ve mentioned, it’s hard to know what the problem is.
You’ll see and feel consequences such as:
- Teams slow down.
- Momentum drops.
- Decisions take longer than necessary.
- Confidence drops.
- Ownership fails.
And whilst all of this is happening, the leader becomes exhausted and indispensable.
You’re always needed, involved and busy.
It can even feel oddly validating because we may tell ourselves:
“They can’t do this without me.”
But indispensability is a dangerous illusion.
It doesn’t mean you’re leading well.
It often means you’re standing in the way of scale.
Worse, it often means that you’re standing in the way of your team’s progression.
Why this is so hard to see in yourself
Unsurprisingly, most leaders don’t identify as bottlenecks.
They identify as:
- Supportive.
- Hands-on.
- Committed.
- Accountable.
And from the inside, it genuinely feels like you’re helping.
That’s why this pattern is so persistent.
You’re not doing something wrong.
You’re doing something that once worked – but in your old role, not your new one.
Shifting from control to enablement
The solution isn’t to disengage completely with your previous ways of doing things.
But you do need to think and act differently.
Great leaders shift from doing the work to creating the conditions for great work to happen.
Here’s what that looks like in practice.
Be clear on decision making rights
One of the fastest ways to remove bottlenecks is to give your team clarity.
Ask yourself:
- What decisions does the team own fully?
- What decisions do they own with input?
- What decisions truly need to come to me?
Then say it out loud to them and reiterate it when these types of decisions come up. If one finds its way to you that they own, push it back to them and trust them.
Ambiguity pulls decisions upwards.
Clarity pushes them back to where they belong.
Allow productive struggle
This is one of the hardest shifts for high-performing leaders. Ironically, it’s especially hard for those who care a lot about their team.
People generally learn best by doing – and sometimes through getting things wrong.
Allowing productive struggle means:
- Letting someone work through a problem.
- Resisting the urge to jump in too early.
- Asking questions instead of giving answers.
It will feel uncomfortable. I guarantee it.
But growth rarely happens in zones of comfort.
Support without rescuing
One of my proudest achievements as a manager was when my team got to a point where they’d say that I knew how to give them space and trust to do their jobs, but that they knew I’d be there to “catch them” if they fell over.
There’s a difference between supporting someone and jumping in to rescue them too early.
Conversations that are supportive sound like this:
- “Talk me through how you’re thinking about this.”
- “What options have you considered?”
- “What would you do if I wasn’t here?”
Whereas rescuing someone sounds like this:
- “I’ll just take this.”
- “Let me fix it.”
- “It’s quicker if I do it.”
Rescue solves today’s problem.
Support builds tomorrow’s capability.
Redefine what “good leadership” looks like
Remember, you’re not doing your old job anymore. Sure, you probably acted like a leader even when you weren’t officially one.
Now that you are a manager and a leader, you need to make a shift in how you think.
Good performance is no longer:
- Being the fastest.
- Being the smartest.
- Being the most involved.
It’s about:
- Creating clarity.
- Building confidence.
- Enabling others to succeed without you.
That’s harder to measure, but far more valuable to you and your team.
To finish up, here is a quick check that you can do on yourself if you’re ever worried that you’re becoming a bottleneck.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Would my team struggle if I took two weeks off?
- Do decisions pile up when I’m busy?
- Am I often the final step in processes that don’t need me?
- Do people come to me before thinking it through themselves?
- Do I struggle to get “my stuff” done because I’m always supporting the team?
If the answer is “yes” to more than one of these, it doesn’t mean that you’re failing in your job.
It’s a signal that you need to shift your mentality a bit and open things up to your team just a little bit more.
