1-2-1: The bottleneck is you

16 Jun 2026 — 1 min read

The leaders I work with who feel busiest are usually the bottleneck their team is trying to work around.

Your week was full. Your team spent it queueing.

1 Principle

A leader's day is measured in what got unblocked, not what got done.

Personal productivity feels real. Team productivity is what the role exists for. The leader who feels slammed while their team waits has been optimising the wrong scoreboard. The trap is that personal productivity feels like proof you're earning the role. It isn't. It's proof you're doing the job below it.

2 Things Top of Mind

#1 The question that changes the room

I keep having the same coaching call. A leader tells me they're underwater. I ask: "How many decisions did your team make this week that didn't need you?" The pause is always longer than the answer. They've been carrying decisions that weren't theirs to carry, because the team learned to wait. The leader feels indispensable. The system is broken.

This week: Ask one direct report, "Which decisions are you waiting on me for right now?" Write down what they say. Move three off your plate today, with the criteria for what good looks like.

#2 The Friday audit

It's 6pm Friday. Your inbox is at zero. You closed thirty-eight tickets and shipped two updates. You feel productive. Then you look at your team's week. The roadmap question from Monday is still open. The hire decision is waiting on you. The cross-team dependency hasn't moved. You did the work. Your team didn't.

This week: At the end of Friday, write two lists side by side. What moved because of you. What moved because of your team without you. The ratio is the diagnostic.

1 Question

What's the last decision your team made without you?

1-2-1

Liam Darmody

I’m a leadership coach and product advisor. I work with senior product and engineering leaders during periods of transition and growth, helping them regain clarity, align teams, and perform sustainably under pressure.

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