Field Notes

Leaders sometimes fall prey to a well-known danger they have been drilled to avoid. It’s easy to forget a trap when you haven’t stepped in it for a long time. One of those traps worth remembering is the danger of becoming overdependent on any one resource. 

Overdependency can be a BIG problem. Anyone who has “too many eggs in one basket” is at risk for a potential calamity. Concentrating all efforts and resources in a single direction exaggerates the impact of even the slightest change. 

The danger of becoming overdependent on any one thing (a small set of customers, a critical supplier, a highly skilled team member, a single source of finance) is easy to ignore because of the success leaders enjoy short term due to that concentration. But the decision to remain overly dependent is a poor choice. 

Sometimes, overdependence begins with a lack of alternatives or options, so a leader naturally concentrates their efforts on the source that can provide what they need. Or there is one option that is heads above others, so a focus on that resource initially makes sense. A leader’s comfort, familiarity, or trust in a single source is yet another plausible reason for dependency. 

Finding yourself depending on a single source is not the main problem. As bad as that is, the real issue is staying in that position. 

Good leaders work hard to avoid becoming overly dependent on any one resource in virtually all arenas in which they lead. When they find an overreliance, they work even harder to explore and find alternatives and then spread their focus on multiple resources. 

What overdependence have you inadvertently created? Asking and answering that question on a periodic basis is important for every leader and team member. When something works, most leaders go with it. They unwittingly move to allow one source to account for too much and risk a potential disaster. Concentration in any other form is a great thing. But when it comes to an overreliance on a single resource, concentration is the enemy.