Single point of failure

When I do something, paid or volunteer, I want to do it well.

And when I do that, people become dependent on me. Especially if I’m playing a unique role.

I become a single point of failure for the organization. Which means that if something happens to me, things will fall apart. So it can be a trap.

I definitely don’t want to become that person for my coaching clients, because the whole purpose of coaching is for my clients to become self-sufficient and self-directed. It’s actually a good thing when a coaching engagement comes to an end, even if we’ve greatly enjoyed working together and accomplished a whole lot.

But the single-point-of-failure trap can easily happen in volunteer situations. You volunteer, you get good at something … pretty soon you’re indispensable. People appreciate it because you’re doing something that they don’t want to, and it appears to be valuable.

I’ve found that some organizations build in more redundancy so they can survive long term. My year as Rotary Club President was wonderful, but it’s important that I had to turn the reins over to the next person.

In a business, this is why you work on developing a line of succession. Because you’d like the business to continue long term, past the tenure of any single leader. And it’s good for people to grow and develop, to not get stuck in the same thing they’ve been doing for years and years.

And you want the organization as a whole to change, to grow, to achieve higher things.