When Working Harder Stops Working: The Leadership Cost of Always Being ‘On’
I think many leaders live with the feeling that they should be able to keep up with everything all the time.
The inbox should be under control. The team should have what they need. The strategic work should be moving forward. The difficult conversation should have already happened. The new idea should have been explored. The project should be further along.
And when it isn’t, our frustration can turn inward… or to others…
I’m not organized enough.
I should have gotten to that already.
If I were doing a better job, I wouldn’t feel this far behind.
If they would move a little faster, I wouldn’t have to keep checking on it.
If they would just do it the way I asked, I wouldn’t have to go back and fix it.
There may be some truth behind those thoughts. Maybe you could be a little more organized, or maybe the work done by your team isn’t always done well.
Rather than focus on those thoughts when they come up, ask yourself this: How much of my own workload is being created by my response to what isn’t getting done? And is there something bigger underneath that deserves my attention?
The Root Cause Approach
There’s a difference between working hard and operating effectively.
Making yourself and your team work harder can help you get through a difficult season. But if your solution to every challenge is to add more hours, more effort, or more responsibility to your own plate or your teams’, eventually you have to ask whether you are actually solving the problem or using a band-aid approach.
That is often an uncomfortable question to ask. I’ve seen it a lot in my client sessions, but we have to be willing to look at the root of the issue and address it, if we want any true lasting change to occur.
I often see root issues grouped into these three categories:
Is the root issue connected to how you’re leading?
Are you delegating enough?
Are you struggling to prioritize
Have you created a habit of saying yes?
Is the root issue within the team?
Is there a genuine performance or accountability issue?
Is this person truly skilled enough or could they use more training and development?
Is there a lack of clarity around ownership on the team?
Are there interpersonal issues on the team that need to be addressed?
Is the root issue within the system?
Are there enough people for the work that needs to be done?
Are our expectations and goals realistic?
Are we truly valuing the correct things as an organization?
Are we listening to the people doing the work, or what we want to hear?
Are we treating our employees like the assets they are, rather than data in a spreadsheet?
None of these questions are particularly easy, but the questions need to be asked. The answer may lead to a change in how you manage yourself. They may lead to a conversation with someone on your team. Or they may reveal an organizational issue that requires a much bigger conversation.
The important thing is to know the difference, because if you misdiagnose the problem, you can spend a tremendous amount of time solving the wrong one. And maybe that is what you’re already doing.
It’s important to be honest in these reflections because you can't delegate your way out of an understaffed organization, hire your way out of a performance issue, or outwork a personal time management issue.
Sometimes the answer is to work differently. Sometimes it is to lead differently. And sometimes, the system itself needs to change.
As leaders, we won't always have control over which of those situations we're facing. But we do have a responsibility to be honest about what is actually happening.
So the next time you find yourself thinking, I just need to work harder, pause for a moment.
Ask yourself what you're really trying to solve.
Is it you?
Is it your team?
Is it the system?
And if you're honest about the answer, what needs to happen next? Because there will always be more to do. The goal is to understand what deserves your energy, what needs to change, and where your leadership can make the greatest difference.
