EOS Traction for Your Workplace Goals

(EOS Episode 25) The Bottleneck is You

• Michele Mollard

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Back with more EOS-centered insights, Certified EOS Implementer MIchele Mollard tests a hard truth about growth: leaders often create the very bottlenecks that stall their teams. 

A tense meeting turns into a breakthrough as a visionary names his own constraint, and we show how clarity breaks, EOS tools, and honest delegation unlock momentum.

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EOS-Traction for Your Workplace Goals is a Livemic Communications production.




Richard Piet:

I'm Richard Pyatt. Welcome back to EOS Attraction for Your Workplace Goals. We talk about the Entrepreneurial Operating System, EOS, and we do so with certified EOS implementer, Michelle Millard, who's back with us today. Hello, Michelle.

Michele Mollard:

Hello, Richard.

Richard Piet:

So today, and just as my grandfather would say, see how this grabs you, your bottleneck is you. Oh. And when we're thinking about business, right? We recognize these things as business owners, don't we? And and those managing business. Sometimes you're wondering, why isn't this done? Or why haven't we gotten to this goal yet? Or why haven't we reached this amount yet? This level of sales, maybe. Well, there's a bottleneck somewhere. Is that a fair characterization?

Michele Mollard:

Absolutely, Richard. There's a bottleneck somewhere. Uh, and sometimes as leaders, we think it's somewhere else, and we haven't processed it enough that sometimes it's us. And so if you if you allow, I'll share a story uh that just happened is actually a reason why this podcast came through. And so if you're good with that, I can I can roll right into that.

Richard Piet:

Absolutely.

Michele Mollard:

Yeah. Okay. Awesome. So I was with a customer a few weeks ago, uh, and there was a conversation between the owner, visionary, zero terms with EOS. Uh, he's a visionary and owner. Uh so he's casting the vision and he's really looking forward and driving the organization forward, and the sales leader. And they were talking about moving sales forward and moving the sales department forward. And ultimately the visionary was in that seat. Uh, and now they have now hired somebody to do that function, right, as sales manager. Uh, and the conversation got a little heated. And it got a little bit more heated, and it got a little bit more heated. And I then looked over at the visionary, and I'm gonna do the body language, so hold on. His head was down, his face was down, and he almost bristled up. I'm trying to make eye contact with you guys, but same. So as you could see his shoulders like crunching to his ears, and the sales manager kept going, and I was watching what was going on. We're we we are facilitators, coaches, and teachers. Uh, and so I was watching what's going on, and I'm like, hmm. And so I Nick is his name, uh, got done with the conversation, and I looked over at the visionary, and he says, Okay. And I said, Let's take a break. Like, literally a break, because I didn't know where this was going. And so, just a little bit of a facilitation tip. I don't get into all that. So we took a break. And I told the owner, I said, Hey, can you just hang back for a minute? Everybody took off out of the room. And so then he and I were walking to the restrooms uh together, a little bit delayed from everybody else. And I said, Are you okay? And he says, Michelle, I am the bottleneck. And I was ready for I am furious, is what I was thinking he was gonna say. And I said, So what's the posture? What's the right? So I'm looking at that body language, and he goes, No, that is me absolutely realizing that I am holding this gentleman back. I'm holding this department back. I haven't let go of enough things, and I'm trying. That was me kind of confessing and kind of angry at myself. And I said, Well, you have to share that with the team because I bet you the team thinks you're angry at them. That's another whole podcast. Um, but it really was, and so it's a revelation. And I want to unpack this more, but that's the story that teed it up. Uh that I want to share more examples and how that comes about. Uh, but often it is us.

Richard Piet:

That uh I'm I'm blown away because I was having the same thought that you probably were having in the middle of that. Oh boy, this is not going well. Uh, it looked like, based on your description, there was a difference of opinion there. Agreed. But it was he was having a revelation.

Michele Mollard:

He was absolutely having a revelation. So it could go either way. I won't say it's always a revelation. Uh, it definitely could have gone the other way, potentially not with him. He's a pretty exceptional leader. But yeah, and so sometimes the other way, right, is the bristling is I'm not letting control over control. Sometimes it's feeling of an insubordination. Uh, and he was speaking very, very clearly and very respectfully. But sometimes as an owner, we've had control of everything. And so that feels like someone's ripping something out of our hands that guess what? We own, but we can't anymore. And so if we want to start scaling this business, we have to recall letting go of the vine, right? I've got to let go of the vine. And if I have somebody, which he does, that is very capable of owning it, I need to let go. And I need to understand that they need to come to me for their tribal knowledge, uh, for the history knowledge that they might need. Right. I say tribal, I mean the like uh company tribal, right? Like what's the history of it, right? Not not any other way, but yeah. Um, and and so what are the dynamics? You know, visionary, what are you thinking? Can you add some like, you know, salt and pepper to this recipe and then let them go and run? And the hardest part about letting go is sometimes we feel like we're also being put out to pasture, right? Is like you're no longer needed. And that's a hard thing as a leader. Uh, and so there's many ways that the reasons why owners, business leaders hold on and are causing the bottleneck. I call it impact over intent. Their intent is to help. The impact is that sometimes it's not helpful. Sometimes we're not letting them grow. Sometimes we're not letting the employees skin their knees a little bit. I'm not talking catastrophic, but skin their knees a little bit. How are we doing all those things? And so we have to think about all these ways of letting go of the vine to make sure that why we're holding on or why we're not holding on.

Richard Piet:

Yeah, uh, I can relate to that. Um, even in my business, which is almost five years old now when we're recording. I've let go of some things. And you inevitably do. When you're a one-man show, one-woman show, you're you're doing it all, you become very used to that. That is to say, having control over all the things and going to bed at night knowing, yep, I took care of this, I took care of that, it's all you know, I did it the way I wanted it done, etc. Then you reach a point where you say, I can't do all this. And so you you let some of it go, but that could be tough. You've got your I don't know, I hope it's not a death grip, but you've got your grip on things and you've got to pry your fingers loose a little bit and hand it over and do so with confidence. That can be tough. So when you describe this process in which your client had a revelation, is that the goal? He somehow now either has it inherently or it came out during the EOS process to self-examine. And that can be tough, but he did it.

Michele Mollard:

Yeah, it definitely can be tough. I mean, some people are um let me start with this. There's a whole process of EOS, and we call it the the EOS healthy rules. Uh, and one of the healthy rules is get comfortable being uncomfortable. So transition, transformation, progress does not happen when we're in the comfort zone. And so uh clients that go through this journey with me, and even those that are listening that are thinking about it, you have already experienced the uncomfortable. Richard, you were just talking about it. When you delegated this, I know what tasks you're talking about because we're close. It is uncomfortable. You're letting go of your baby, you're letting go of part of this that is kind of ultimately the end result of these going well. And so that is right, that's scary. Uh, but you had to be comfortable and then watch it happen. And then maybe even who you've delegated this to, there's a little few things that they've given you tips on because they're experts in that field. And so I've done it with Jen. I have a uh we call practice manager and delegated things to Jen. Uh, and I couldn't do this without her as well. And so the revelation that he's having and the maturity, and he's not, he's not old, like he's young. Uh, and so, but the maturity to understand that that's very important to let his company grow. Uh, and then what's next? And that's the hardest thing is saying I'm being put out to pasture. I don't know what my value is because that was what that was. My value was sales manager, and now I don't have that value. And that's a whole nother podcast uh to talk about what that is, but we have to allow leaders that we're letting go to soar as well, because if we don't, then they don't know their value. And so now we double lose, right? I mean, we just double lose.

Richard Piet:

Yeah. So your bottleneck is you. I have the presumption that this doesn't always happen. What you just illustrated, we might have to take a moment to realize what am I doing that might be causing the bottleneck? And this sometimes takes a little nudging. Is this true?

Michele Mollard:

It does, absolutely. So, Richard, uh, it's funny. I was I was out uh having a clarity break in the mountains of Montana yesterday, and it was absolutely beautiful. And and I've grown up skiing, so I don't think much about it. Like actually going down the hill. I just ski. And I'm looking around and I'm like, my gosh, where am I? Right? Like, just uh not in heaven. I don't want to get uh religious on anybody, but that kind of visceral experience was coming out. And we have to take time for ourselves and have moments of clarity. Uh, and so much of that really came for that. And so this transformation doesn't happen all the time. That conversation could have gone very differently with he and I and saying, No, I'm pissed and I need to take back control and he's wrong, and it could have been very different. Uh, but I would have pressed upon the owner visionary to say, you need to take a clarity break around this, and you need to take time. Literally put on this Nick's explanation of the sales department, right? And you need to sit there and go, and what am I trying to protect? What am I trying to do? Where is my involvement? Why do I need to be involved? And so just sit with this whole thing. And sometimes it's just our reaction because we're just trying to solve and we're in the weeds and we're running and running and running and running and not coming up and on top of the business to think, oh, what is better for this business? Right. And so that was even a part of my clarity break. There's personal clarity that came from skiing yesterday and a business clarity, literally just skiing on the mountaintop. Uh, but it can be done anywhere. It doesn't have to be in this quiet room with the, you know, you know, meditation. It works as well. Uh, but it can be anywhere that you can find your brain kind of letting loose a windshield of a car, right? I've thought a lot of good things in a windshield of a car, but I'm scrolling us a little bit. But what is it really about us getting really deep on those? There's so many fun things to talk about. Why am I feeling that way and processing through that, right? Is that we need to really be vulnerable leaders and understanding. I don't want to get really kind of mystical, uh, but we've really got to know where our feelings are, right? I don't want to get into that piece, but we've got to really own those things.

Richard Piet:

Well, it it's something that humans have trouble doing sometimes, separating the practical from the emotional. Yes. And your example is that person did that, and it it made him a a little bit uncomfortable there. And and you saw that in the posturing and the gesturing, but he was actually separating himself eventually from the emotion of that and looking at it uh practically. By the way, we've done an episode on Clarity Breaks, so go back and and uh check that if that seems interesting to you. But I think what you're saying is a similar foundational idea. Sure. Take yourself somewhere where you can just have a moment to process all this thinking and maybe take the emotion out of it while you're there and look at it practically.

Michele Mollard:

Yeah, for sure. And I I want the emotion, I want the emotion to be there and feel it, but then what's the why behind the emotion? Is the emotion because I need to hold on? Is the emotion because I'm not willing to get let go, or is the emotion I'm not willing to let go because, and this is not the case with this leader, that that person can't handle it. There's many reasons why we won't let go of things or do things or expand our thinking. Uh, I just want, as leaders are listening to this, process through the why you do it, right? Uh I was a control freak, still am, but at least I recognize it now of all the things. And I'm like, I'll do it all, I'll do it all, I'll do it all. Long story short, you know, I've tripled the business because I'm not doing it all. And that was the only reason I could have done it is that I let go. Why was I holding on? Yeah. Because no one does it my way. So I shared a quick story, I will, uh, Richard, to you, really, really quick. Uh my dad taught me as a young girl to change the oil of my car, right? And this is back in the 70s, 80s. I'm old. And uh I came in one day and I go, Dad, you didn't teach me how to change the oil properly. And he goes, What are you talking about? And I'm like, when I go to put the nut in the bottom of the engine, you know, at the bottom after it's all drained out, my because my hair is usually in a ponytail. Um, I dip my ponytail in the hot oil. And you don't do that, right? And it's funny, right? Because it's not part of the process, but it is part of my process every time. Like, why wouldn't I just move the pan? But I went through this, right? But it's a joke because he and I joke about it all the time. It's like he showed me how, but I did it a little bit differently by dipping my ponytail in the hot oil and then having it drip down my back. And so I think we think about like, oh, you know, I have to show them everything and they have to do it exactly the same way. I'm like, I do it a little differently. I have oil down the back of my t-shirt because I just do it differently. So, right, it's a funny thing. It's a funny story, true story, absolutely true story. Uh, I did it many times before I learned, a little slow learner back in the day. Uh, but it's the same thing, right? They'll do it a little bit differently, but ultimately is the nut in the pan? Yeah, so it doesn't leak out. That's what we really needed.

Richard Piet:

It's an important part of the process.

Michele Mollard:

That's important.

Richard Piet:

And you were on the ground under the car, not the car was not on a lift.

Michele Mollard:

No, it was you know the little ramps back in the day. I don't even know what I don't even know if people, right? They drew it up on the lamps because it's a little bit off the ground, right? Like six inches, 12 inches, whatever. And so yes, I was underneath there and right into the oil pan. Right on the ground.

Richard Piet:

See where I went with that? The car guy immediately goes to some of those details. Get the point though.

Michele Mollard:

I like it.

Richard Piet:

Uh and I don't mind telling you this car guy has never changed his own oil, so you already know more than I do. So there you go. I know where to put the key or push the button and uh make it move. That's about all I know.

Michele Mollard:

But you've delegated that tool based on the fact that you don't want to do it or are not mechanically inclined to do it, right? So I'm not being funny, but we have to think about things. Everything that we've done in life, uh, we've done it for a reason. We've delegated a lot of stuff. We just haven't processed why we've delegated it. And so it's easy to delegate the weakness, right? Or whatever. But if you've been doing it, now it's even harder. I was a little kid, and so it wasn't hard to delegate changing the oil because I just didn't care. But there are things that I have delegated that I'm like, oh, that is hard to delegate, right? Like I just gave Jen booking my flights. Like she could book my flights, just tell her the preferences. No, I have to do it myself. No, you don't.

Richard Piet:

Uh-huh.

Michele Mollard:

And so I'm working on it.

Richard Piet:

All right. So so that's an example of a bottleneck. Not giving that up might be causing a bottleneck. It is. Yeah.

Michele Mollard:

Will it be noticeable by the millions of dollars? Millions of parts? I don't know. Potentially, not that, but uh I could be missing a response quickly for an email for a prospect uh that is giving me about a two-hour window to respond. And I'm worried about getting flights, right? And so I might miss out on a client that journeys with me for two years that I would love to have because I'm busy about comparing flights all over the place. Like it didn't happen, but but that's true, right? And so you have to figure out the magnitude of importance and the impact of your time. And I'd rather do podcasts and have calls from people that just listen to the podcast that want a little help and they may not ever implement EOS. I would love though, do those phone calls and of course take care of my clients better than I would be searching, you know, six different sites to get a flight somewhere.

Richard Piet:

I want business class. Where's that seat? That's right. Yes, uh so think about that, folks. What could the bottlenecks be for you? And how are you dealing with those? Can you even see them? Do you even know? What's that uh saying? Extra set of eyes, right? So EOS is an extra set of eyes when you have someone like Michelle, a certified implementer, helping you see what needs to be seen and maybe breaking free of that bottleneck. And maybe not maybe. Do it.

Michele Mollard:

Not maybe. Let's do it. So ask about that.

Richard Piet:

Just like do it. Ask Michelle about it. The contact information is in the show notes for this episode. Reach out and say, yeah, maybe the bottleneck is me. And she'll be ready with a response. Meanwhile, we've done many of these episodes. That clarity break thing we mentioned is in there, along with several others. Have a look. Better yet, subscribe and get alerted when these episodes come available. Michelle Millard, certified EOS implementer here on the EOS Traction for Your Workplace Goals podcast. Michelle, we'll be back. See you soon.