Hey Reader,
A few weeks ago, I talked about identifying bottlenecks at a workshop organized by Women In Tech. There, I explained the process of identifying bottlenecks and at the end of the session I received a very important question:
“What if the bottleneck is a person? What should I do then?”
Nope, DO NOT PANIC!
In this edition I’ll tell you a lesson learned from my time as a COO in a SaaS startup, where the main bottleneck wasn’t a broken process or a missing system. It was a key member of the development team.
When I joined, I was leading across three functions - Sales, Operations, and Development - while closely collaborating with both the CEO and CFO. From day one, I knew speed and alignment were critical: the company had already missed two MVP deadlines, and we were a few months away from a high-stakes product launch event in Paris.
The lead developer was brilliant - he had built most of the product architecture, but the knowledge sat entirely with him. The rest of the dev team couldn’t move without him, and soon it became clear: he wasn’t just overloaded. He was disengaging. Smells like a problem, right?
He took Fridays off, avoided critical discussions, and regularly delayed features for weeks at a time. Every dependency ran through him - and they all stalled.
We wanted to support him, so we brought in another full-stack developer and gave our lead dev a room to lead again. I stepped back and shifted to check-in mode. But a month later, nothing had changed. He hadn’t delegated anything meaningful to the new employee, he didn't even give him a chance to help. He shut me out. He didn't send the weekly reports. And he began undermining me to the CEO.
The CEO, however, had full visibility. We spent a lot of time talking about the bottlenecks in the company and finally we made a decision: it was time to move on. Knowing and predicting the damage of this choice, we did things structurally, not emotionally:
✅ We made sure documentation was updated and shared with the rest of the team
✅ We ensured access was handed over to the rest of the team before letting him go
✅ We connected the in-house devs with a reliable support team based in Germany
✅ With that, we aligned on a final timeline and deliverables
And here’s what happened next:
The MVP was completed in one month.
Features that had been blocked for weeks? Delivered. The team? Re-energized. And most importantly - we hit our launch deadline on time and with confidence.
So, what do you do when the bottleneck is a person?
- You lead with clarity, not emotion.
- You try to educate and be a support first, if that doesn't work - then you decide to let people go
- You design for continuity, not conflict.
- And you remember: removing a blocker isn’t a failure in leadership - it’s often what leadership requires.
If this story feels familiar and if you’re leading a team where momentum is stuck, dependencies are unclear, or one person holds too many keys - I just want to say: You’re not alone. And there’s always a way through it, with the right plan and the right structure.
Need support creating more breathing room and structure in how you work?
I offer a Monthly Consulting Package for founders and executives who want to run their businesses more effectively - without taking on full-time ops help.
You’ll get a tailored operational audit, weekly coaching calls, and guidance on simplifying how your team works - so you can scale without burning out or slowing down.
If that sounds helpful, feel free to Book a Discovery Call today.
Until next time,
Best,
