Are You Leading—Or Just Staying Busy?
I get it...you’re in back-to-back meetings.
The team needs answers.
There’s a problem you didn’t expect, and your calendar is packed.
It’s a full week. You’ve been flat out.
But somewhere in the blur, the real question lingers:
“Am I genuinely leading—or just staying busy?”
That’s not a criticism.
It’s a reality for so many of us in leadership roles.
In high-pressure, fast-paced environments, it’s easy to equate activity with impact.
We stay in motion. We get things done.
But the work filling our calendar isn’t always the kind that grows our leadership impact.
When Busyness Replaces Leadership
We don’t always need more time.
What we need is a clearer way to see where our time is going—and whether it’s contributing to the kind of leadership our team, business or organisation actually needs.
Because here’s the truth:
Changing how we use our time can have a dramatic effect on our leadership impact.
The Focus Filter
That’s why I developed this simple visual tool called The Focus Filter...
- A quadrant framework that helps us map out how we’re currently spending our time, and where it’s adding (or costing) value.
Here’s a simplified overview of the four zones we can find ourselves in:
Focus Zone | What it Tells Us |
⏳ Time Drainers | We’re working hard, but the work isn’t strategic or energising. |
⚡ Misplaced Energy | We’re doing valuable things—but over-functioning or staying too hands-on. |
🚫 Cut or Automate | Low-value tasks that seem small, but slowly eat into leadership capacity. |
🪙 Strategic Gold | High-impact, high-leverage leadership activities that takes little time. |
We all move between these zones. That’s not a failure—it’s just the nature of leadership.
But when busyness becomes our default mode, it’s easy to drift from the kind of work that actually shapes culture, builds trust, and sets direction.
Leadership Is Seasonal. But Awareness Is Everything.
Sometimes we find ourselves in a quadrant we’d rather avoid—not because we’ve lost focus, but because that’s what the team or situation requires in the moment.
Leadership is seasonal—there are times to step in, take control, or operate at a pace that isn’t sustainable long-term.
The issue isn’t ending up in a less-than-ideal zone. It’s when we stay there too long without noticing.
That’s why tools like The Focus Filter are so valuable. They help us step back, check in, and ask:
“Is my time and energy going toward the type of leadership my business or team needs right now?”
Want to Try the Focus Filter?
I’ve created a downloadable version of The Focus Filter quadrant—with clear descriptions of each zone and practical prompts for how and when to use them.
It’s a powerful first step to help you spot where your leadership energy is going—and where it may need to shift.
Download the Focus Filter Quadrant Overview
The Focus Filter is just one tool from my Leadership Accelerator Blueprint —
A 6-session coaching package designed to help you build unshakable leadership foundations and empower your team to thrive.
If you’d like access to the full Focus Filter self-assessment, guided coaching questions, and other core leadership tools in the Leadership Accelerator Blueprint, feel free to reach out when you're ready to explore it further.
Best wishes, and Keep Leading!
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