Does it make you happy when you get off the phone with your remote team and all you hear about is how busy they are? Or when you stroll around the office, seeing everyone glued to their laptops, typing away like there’s no tomorrow?

I hate to break it to you, but

Busy does not equal productive!

The Utilization Trap: Why Being Busy Isn’t the Same as Being Productive

Here’s a scenario I see all too often: Teams are operating at maximum capacity, everyone’s calendar is packed, and yet, things aren’t getting done as quickly or as effectively as they should. Deadlines slip, bottlenecks form, and stress levels rise. What’s worse, there’s a whole lot of rework, redoing, reassembling, and rewriting. These RE-whatever words are killing your productivity. Sound familiar?

This is what I call the Utilization Trap—the belief that if everyone is constantly working, you’re getting the most out of your team. But the truth is, high utilization often leads to inefficiency. When everyone is maxed out, there’s no room to absorb unexpected changes, adapt to new priorities, or even think critically about the work being done. Instead of moving forward, your team is just spinning its wheels.

Real-life Example: Air Traffic Control Delays

Let’s think about it this way: have you ever been on a delayed flight? You know how frustrating it can be. You’re sitting on the tarmac, wondering why your plane isn’t taking off, even though you’re right on schedule. The issue often isn’t with your plane or the airport—it’s with the air traffic control system trying to cram too many flights into the available airspace.

When air traffic controllers focus on maximizing the utilization of airspace—squeezing in as many flights as possible—delays and inefficiencies will follow. Planes end up in holding patterns, circling the airport or waiting on the runway, because there simply isn’t enough room for them to take off or land safely. The result? Delays ripple across the entire air traffic system, causing missed connections and a whole lot of frustration for travelers.

This scenario highlights a key point: Just like in air traffic control, when you prioritize utilization over flow in your team, you create bottlenecks, increase the risk of errors, and ultimately, slow everything down.

The Power of Flow: What The Goal Teaches Us About Getting Stuff Done

Eliyahu M. Goldratt’s book The Goal introduces a powerful concept: the Theory of Constraints. In simple terms, this theory suggests that your productivity is not determined by how busy your team is, but by how well you manage the bottlenecks in your process—the constraints that limit your overall throughput.

When you focus on flow, you’re aligning with this principle. It’s not about keeping everyone busy; it’s about ensuring that work moves smoothly through your process, without getting stuck at any bottleneck. Goldratt teaches us that maximizing flow—not utilization—is the key to increasing throughput and, ultimately, achieving your goals.

Identifying Flow Problems: The Pipeline of Work

Think of your team’s work as a pipeline. Ideally, tasks should flow through this pipeline smoothly, from start to finish, without unnecessary delays or bottlenecks. But how do you know if there’s a problem with your flow? Here are some signs to look for:

1. Bottlenecks: Are there certain points in your process where work consistently gets stuck? This could be due to one person or one department being overwhelmed while others are waiting for work to do.

2. Rework: Is your team spending too much time redoing tasks? If people are constantly reassembling, rewriting, or revisiting work because it wasn’t done right the first time, that’s a clear indicator that something is off in your flow.

3. Unclear Priorities: Do your team members know what’s coming down the pipeline in the next day, week, or month? If not, they may be working on low-priority tasks while critical work is delayed, leading to inefficiencies and bottlenecks.

4. Missed Deadlines: Are deadlines frequently slipping, even though everyone is busy? This could indicate that work isn’t flowing through the pipeline in the right order, causing critical tasks to be delayed.

5. Stress and Burnout: Is your team feeling constantly stressed or burned out? High stress levels can be a sign that your pipeline is clogged with too much work, causing overload and inefficiencies.

Final Thoughts: It’s Time to Rethink “Busy”

It’s time to stop equating busyness with productivity. By focusing on the flow of work rather than just keeping everyone busy, you’ll not only get more done, but you’ll also reduce stress, improve the quality of work, and create a more adaptable, resilient team.

So, next time you find yourself pushing for higher utilization, take a step back. Ask yourself if this is really helping your team get stuff done—or if it’s just keeping them busy. Chances are, you’ll find that flow, much like Goldratt suggests in The Goal, is the real key to productivity.



Bonus: Rate Your Flow – Questions to Identify Bottlenecks and Inefficiencies

To help you determine whether your team has flow issues, rate each of the following questions on a scale from 1 to 5:

5: Always
4: Often
3: Sometimes
2: Rarely
1: Never

• Am I often unclear about the work coming to me in the next day, week, or month?

  • Lack of clarity will throw any kind of predictability—especially the promises you make—straight out the window.

• Do tasks frequently get stuck at the same point, person, or team?

  • If tasks are consistently getting stuck in the same place, it’s a flashing red light that something is seriously wrong in your process. Do you have too many traffic cops in your process?

• Does my team often have to redo or fix work that wasn’t done right the first time?

  • Frequent rework is a strong indicator of flow problems. It not only slows down progress but also drains morale and wastes valuable resources.

• Are team members frequently unclear about their priorities and what’s most important?

  • Misaligned priorities can cause delays and inefficiencies. If your team isn’t clear on what’s most important, expect chaos, missed deadlines, and a whole lot of frustration.

• Are deadlines frequently missed, leading to last-minute heroics?

  • Regularly missed deadlines could signal that your pipeline is clogged. If you or someone on your team is doing all kinds of heroics to get stuff done, that’s another sign here.

• Is my team often stressed out and on the verge of burnout?

  • High stress levels often point to problems in the flow of work. If your team is constantly feeling the pressure, it’s a clear indication that your process is broken—pushing people to their limits without actually getting more done.

What to Do Next

If you’ve rated any of these questions a 4 or 5, it’s a sign that there are significant flow problems in your team that need immediate attention. Don’t wait for these issues to get worse—let’s chat now. I’m here to help you identify the root causes and implement strategies to get your team back on track. Reach out to me today, and let’s start improving your workflow!