Spot the Bottleneck
The Insight:
When teams consistently miss deadlines or feel busy without making progress, the problem usually isn't effort - it's flow.
Work gets stuck somewhere in the system, creating a bottleneck that slows everything downstream. Most managers try to solve this by asking people to work harder or faster, but that's treating symptoms, not causes.
The real solution is identifying the constraint - the one point where work piles up - and redesigning around it.
This could be an overloaded person, an overcomplicated process, or unclear priorities creating competing demands.
Fix the bottleneck and you unlock momentum across the entire system without anyone working longer hours.
The Tool: Flow Fixer
4 steps to try now
01.
Visualise the Entire Process
Map it
Draw or write how work actually moves through your team, not how it's supposed to work.
Map from initial request to final delivery: who does what, who approves, where handovers happen, and what dependencies exist.
Ask: "Walk me through how this typically works" and "Where do you usually wait?" Don't skip messy middle steps or informal processes.
See the real workflow, including bottlenecks invisible from your view.
02.
Identify Where Things Slow Down
Listen
Look for patterns in your flow map. Where do tasks consistently pile up? Ask: "Where do things typically get stuck?" and "What do you find yourself waiting for most often?"
Look for symptoms: repeated delays in the same place, one person always being the blocker, or work sitting idle between steps.
Pay attention to emotional signals - where do people express frustration? These are breadcrumbs to your bottleneck.
03.
Diagnose the Root Cause
Name It
Categorise your bottleneck into one of three types.
People constraint: Is someone overloaded or lacking skills/authority to keep up?
Process constraint: Are unnecessary steps, approvals, or handovers slowing things?
Priority constraint: Are too many "urgent" things competing for the same resources?
Be specific - not "communication is bad" but "approval requires three signatures for small decisions." Naming the constraint precisely determines the solution.
04.
Redesign Around Constraints
Tweak
Address the root cause, not symptoms.
People constraints: Redistribute workload, add resources, or increase decision-making authority.
Process constraints: Eliminate unnecessary steps, combine approvals, or create parallel paths instead of sequential ones.
Priority constraints: Clarify what's truly urgent, create a single prioritisation system, or time-box demands.
Test the change for 1-2 weeks, then measure: did the bottleneck move or disappear?
Why it works
This approach turns vague frustration ("everything's slow") into focused problem-solving. Fixing the constraint unlocks momentum across the entire system, often dramatically improving performance.
Use it when
Projects consistently miss deadlines, everyone's busy but progress feels slow, you're playing workflow whack-a-mole, or team energy is high but output is low.
Bonus tip
Sometimes the bottleneck is you. If every decision needs your approval, try delegating authority instead of just tasks - empower others to move work forward.
