The cost of ‘doing’ too much. Why busy leaders make bad decisions!

Take a look at your calendar for this week. How much of it is spent in ‘doing mode’? Time spent problem-solving, firefighting, back-to-back calls or simply clearing your Inbox.

Most senior leaders spend 95% of their lives here. Doing mode may feel productive because it’s high-activity, high-execution and high-control and most corporate cultures reward it but a packed diary and constant responsiveness simply creates the illusion of effectiveness.

But according to a recent Harvard Business Review piece by Megan Reitz and John Higgins, this constant state of action is actually diminishing your leadership quality.

When you move continuously from one decision to the next without pausing, you become purely reactive. You solve today's micro-problem while completely overlooking tomorrow's macro-opportunity.

Decisions are made more quickly, but not necessarily more wisely.

Enter "Spacious Thinking"

Reitz and Higgins argue that the best leaders intentionally create space for reflection, curiosity, and perspective.

It is not about doing less, it is about thinking differently.

When I coach leaders, I use the analogy of the driver versus the navigator. The Driver never looks beyond the road immediately ahead and whilst they are unquestionably moving they may actually have little idea if they are heading toward a cliff.

The navigator, however, periodically stops to examine the map, check the horizon, reassess the route and adjust to changing conditions.

Progress isn't measured solely by movement, it’s measured by movement in the right direction.

The Myth of the ‘Wasted Hour’

I’ve often heard leaders refer to the notion of creating an hour for spacious thinking as a trade-off they can ill afford.

They see a 60-minute coaching session for instance as an indulgence, believing that something else has to suffer if they take the time to reflect and seek a trusted sounding board for constructive challenge. They think that if they aren't answering emails or sitting in a status meeting, they aren't working.

They are wrong. Reflection is executive work and is arguably among the most valuable work you do.

An hour spent in coaching reflecting on strategy, questioning priorities, noticing patterns, challenging your own assumptions and evaluating team dynamics may produces no immediate, visible output and there are no boxes ticked but that single hour of disciplined reflection can fundamentally change the quality of every decision you make for the next six months.

The Bottom Line

Your greatest value as a senior leader no longer comes from having all the answers or being the fastest firefighter in the building. It comes from asking better questions and making fewer, higher-quality decisions.

An hour of coaching isn't time away from leadership, it’s an investment in your leadership

In a hyper-complex market, the competitive advantage doesn't belong to the leader who acts first, it often belongs to the one who creates enough space to think clearly before they act.