Or are you the busiest person in the building (OK you may be working from home LOL - still applies) … holding everything together with caffeine and calendar invites?
Let’s have a look.
1. You’re flat out… but going nowhere
Your days are full, your calendar is packed, and your to-do list could rival a supermarket receipt for a family of 14. And yet… meaningful progress is suspiciously absent. Which means you’re not leading, you’re firefighting.
What’s really happening is that you’ve become the engine and the exhaust system. Everything runs through you.
How to Shift it:
Get ruthless with priorities. Ask: 'Is this actually moving us forward, or just keeping me busy?'
Protect thinking time like it’s your most important meeting. (Because it is.)
Step out of the middle. If you’re doing their job… who’s doing yours?
2. Your team is confused (and quietly frustrated)
Things continue to slip, deadlines drift, and everyone’s doing their best… but not necessarily the right things. So this is not a capability problem, it’s a clarity problem.
What’s really happening is you’re holding the plan in your head… and assuming others can see it. They can’t.
How to Shift it:
Be crystal clear. Roles. Outcomes. Deadlines. No guesswork.
Create one source of truth. Not five versions across email, Teams and someone’s notebook.
Repeat yourself. Then repeat yourself again. Clarity loves repetition.
3. Delegation is… inconsistent at best
You’re either:
doing everything yourself (hello, exhaustion), or
handing things over and then quietly fixing them later.
Neither is leadership. Both are expensive.
What’s really happening is you don’t fully trust the outcome unless you’re in control of it.
How to Shift it:
Start small. Build the muscle.
Use the 70% rule. Progress beats perfection every time.
Delegate properly:
What needs to be done
Why it matters
What “good” looks like
When it’s due
Give ownership, not errands. People rise when they’re trusted with something that matters.
4. You’re avoiding that conversation
You know the one I mean. The underperformance, the tension, the behaviour everyone else has noticed, and you’re hoping it resolves itself.
It won’t.
What’s really happening is that you’re protecting short-term comfort at the expense of long-term standards.
How to Shift it:
Address it early. These things don’t age well.
Keep it clean and factual:
Here’s what happened…
Here’s the impact…
Stay out of assumptions. Stay in observable behaviour.
Invite ownership: “What needs to change from here?”
5. Your team has gone… a bit flat
Energy is low, and you notice that engagement is patchy. You’re getting compliance but not commitment, and you can feel it.
What’s really happening is that people don’t disengage overnight. They drift when things feel unclear, unseen or out of their control.
How to Shift it:
Ask. Don’t assume. (You might be surprised what you hear.)
Connect the work to something that actually matters.
Acknowledge effort. Regularly. Specifically.
Look in the mirror. Leadership energy is contagious… in both directions.
The truth most leaders miss - leadership isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing the right things… at the right level. Most capable leaders don’t struggle because they’re not good enough, they struggle because no one ever showed them how to shift out of doing… and into leading.
Maree