A lack of self-awareness can quietly sabotage even the most capable leader. Without realising it, leaders can find themselves drowning in tasks, getting down in the ‘weeds’ of day-to-day work, while wondering why they feel perpetually exhausted. The result? Stress levels skyrocket, your team gets frustrated, decision making suffers, and suddenly, even the simplest tasks feel overwhelming.
When the brain is overloaded, clear thinking goes out the window, replaced by a frantic attempt to do all the things – usually at once. This often leads to survival mode, where the instinct is to regain control by taking on even more work! New leaders are particularly prone to this trap, convinced that they must personally oversee everything while their team “catches up”. Spoiler alert: That’s not leadership. That’s just a fast track to burnout.
Effective leadership isn’t about playing superhero – it’s about playing smart. The best leaders understand that their role isn’t to do everyone’s work; it’s to do the work that aligns with their strategic responsibilities and trust their team to handle the rest. When a leader steps into their proper role, soe remarkable things start happening.
Suddenly, they’re not bogged down in endless meetings that could have been emails. They’re approving final drafts instead of rewriting everything themselves. They know what their team is up to, but they’re not sweating over 100 little things. Their team, now empowered, start building strong relationships across the organisation instead of waiting for instructions. And, perhaps most shocking of all, the leader manages to find moments in the day to take a breath – maybe even a lunch break.
When leadership operates at the right level, the entire team flourishes. Productivity soars, engagement improves, and collaboration becomes second nature.
Best of all, leaders finally have the bandwidth to tackle those big-picture projects that have been gathering dust on the to-do list.
And here’s the kicker: when leaders work smarter, people notice. Opportunities open up, careers advance, and suddenly, leadership starts feeling a lot less like a never-ending to-do list and a lot more like the strategic, fulfilling role it was meant to be. Leadership isn’t about doing more – it’s about doing the right things.
What level are you working at?
Contact Dianne Newell at The People and Culture Link to get your team performing at the right level.
