Externally, everything looked golden. We were growing fast, revenue was climbing, and our user base was expanding into new markets. But inside? Our velocity had flatlined.

Features that used to fly out in two sprints were now dragging into month four. My Slack was a graveyard of "following up on this" messages. Engineers were visibly frustrated, and PMs were spending 70% of their week in "alignment" calls just to get permission to move a button.

Leadership kept asking: "What's taking so damn long?"

We told ourselves we were being "thorough" and "inclusive." The truth was uglier: we were paying a heavy Complexity Tax.

What is the Complexity Tax?

It's the invisible drag that accumulates as you scale. It's not about how hard the product is to build—it's the layers of process, people, and politeness that eventually smother the actual work.

I've led product teams through several complex platform environments, and regardless of the industry, the patterns are the same. You know you're paying the tax when:

• You have meetings to prepare for the actual meeting.
• "Standard Operating Procedure" is a 40-page doc no one has touched in a year.
• Every department has an "Urgent P1" priority, which means nothing is actually a priority.
• Seven different people have "veto" power, but no one is empowered to say "Go."

The Red Flags I Watch For

Having navigated these growth cycles—from early-stage builds to enterprise scale—I've developed a sixth sense for when this tax is starting to collect.

1. The "Stakeholder Spiral"

You start a roadmap review with three key people. Suddenly, Finance "needs to be looped in." Then Legal. Then Customer Success. By the time you meet, you aren't deciding on product direction; you're negotiating a peace treaty.

2. The Velocity Mirage

The team looks slammed. Jira is overflowing, people are working late, and there's "heroism" everywhere. But at the end of the quarter, the needle hasn't moved.

3. The "Alignment" Shield

"We just need to sync with the other team first." It sounds responsible, but it's often a way to dodge accountability. If everyone is "aligned," no one is at fault if the feature flops.

The Real Hit: Losing Speed to Market

This isn't just about internal frustration—it's a business risk. In complex or regulated spaces, you already deal with "External Complexity" (compliance, security audits, etc.). That's the cost of entry. But when you pile Internal Complexity on top of that, you lose your edge.

Leaner rivals won't beat you because they have better ideas; they'll beat you because they can decide and ship in the time it takes you to schedule a kickoff.

How We Fight Back and Reclaim Momentum

When I step into a team—whether as a fractional leader or a full-time lead—my first job is to clear the path. Here is what actually moves the needle:

A Quick Win: The Migration That Finally Moved

I recently worked on a critical data migration involving several internal stakeholders and third-party vendors—the kind of project prime for "Complexity Tax."

The Old Way: We had massive working groups and glacial progress.

Our Play: We carved out a tiny "Execution Squad" and I handled the stakeholder shielding so they could focus. We swapped weekly syncs for a lean, written spec with async feedback.

The Result: We delivered in four months—faster and cleaner than the original estimate. By cutting the noise, we gave the team the one thing they needed: the permission to focus.

The Hard Truth

Complexity is often self-made. We invite it in with one extra approval or one more committee.

Cutting this tax is socially awkward. It means saying "no" to people who want to be included. But top-tier product cultures aren't built on harmony; they're built on trust and velocity.

Your Product Leader Checklist

If you feel your team slowing down, try these "de-taxing" moves this month:

• Axe the "Update" Meeting: If a meeting is just for sharing information (and not making a decision), kill it and move it to a written update.
• Audit the Calendars: Look at your PMs' schedules. If they don't have at least 3 hours of contiguous "deep work" time a day, their strategy is suffering.
• Unstick One Item: Find one decision that has been lingering for more than two weeks. Pick an owner, give them the data, and demand a "yes/no" by EOD.
• Check Decision Speed: Start tracking how long it takes to go from "Idea" to "Scoped." If that gap is widening, the tax is rising.