Lead Lightly: Time drain is real; and it’s costing you credibility.
Time is a leadership signal.
Leaders don’t struggle with time because they’re disorganised. They struggle because their role demands constant context-switching, high-stakes decision making, and feeling like they need to be across everything all at once.
Time isn’t just a calendar issue, it’s a credibility issue, and how you spend your time shows people what you stand for, how you lead and what you’re striving to achieve.
But too many smart leaders let their diary be set by default. Or treat it like admin. They stay across everything out of habit. They attend meetings out of obligation. What gets traded? Strategic thought. Long-term plays. Energy.
This edition is your call to reclaim it. Not for the sake of productivity, but to lead with more precision, more intent, and more influence when it counts.
Here are five mindset changes and tactics to help unshackle from your diary.
#1 Stop being across everything
You don’t need to be across everything to lead with impact. And trying to be? That’s a fast track to nowhere. If you’re micromanaging, or treating your time like a consequence instead of a choice, two things happen:
You drain your energy on the wrong stuff
Your team either feels smothered, or unsupported when it actually counts.
Don't try to be everywhere, show up where it matters.
Try this:
Name three top picks, that you think only you can own.
Choose one thing and inspect it critically. Is there really no one else in your team who can take it forward? Find the person, brief them and then hand it over with confidence.
Then, build in 90-minute windows weekly to re-scan for what’s next, and repeat.
Insight: you might think letting go dilutes your leadership or makes it think like you’re not doing your part. But your value is in direction and oversight, not doing and approval.
#2 Protect white space like it’s billable
There’s a reason your best thinking doesn’t happen in the back half of back-to-backs. You need space for decisions, ideas and for composure. But that space doesn’t appear by luck. It has to be built.
Try this:
Pre-block your calendar each fortnight with “thinking time” and treat it as immovable.
Be explicit with your team about why you’re doing it. Set a norm that focused time matters.
Use it to prepare for what’s ahead, not mop up what’s behind.
Insight: strategic thinking IS.YOUR.JOB. Again, for those in the back…your role exists to think, scan, assess. Guard space that makes this possible.
#3 Default to 15
A 30-minute meeting doesn’t guarantee 30 minutes of value. It just guarantees 30 minutes. When was the last time you had a 15- or 45-minute meeting? If the purpose is clear, and the people are prepared, you can get to an outcome in 15. That’s why agile teams use short stand-ups; they work.
Try this: make 15-minute check-ins your default. Start with:
What are we solving?
Who owns it?
What’s next?
No meandering. Just decisions and next steps.
Insight: time limits force clarity. Use them strategically, because not every meeting needs the full 30. Some (like 1-1s) will be longer but stop assuming they all should be.
#4 A clear no
Leaders say yes to avoid awkwardness. Or because it feels faster than the friction of redirecting. But every quiet yes you give out of guilt, habit or obligation, chips away at the time you actually need to lead. A strong no doesn’t need to be combative or cold. It needs to be clear.
Try this: give these boundary scripts a go:
“This isn’t helping us move forward. Let’s park it for now.”
“That’s not something we can take on right now, can we revisit it in the next planning cycle?”
“I’m booked, but I trust your judgment here.”
“Let’s come back to this once our priorities settle.”
“That’s not aligned with my key focus this quarter.”
These are deliberate redirects, designed to protect traction.
Insight: every yes has a cost. Use no to protect what matters most.
#5 Audit your inputs
Your attention is finite, and right now, it’s probably overdrawn. Perhaps you’re drowning in inputs: email chains, Teams chats, newsletters, dashboards, drop-ins. A crowd of stuff and things.
Try this:
Unsubscribe from 3 newsletters that don’t serve your current priorities.
Ask to be removed from 2 update chains where your input isn’t essentia.
Revisit chat etiquettes, ensuring you are included in only the most critical threads
Then go one step further: Every Friday before you sign off for the week, ask what inputs are helping me lead better? What’s just noise? And make a commitment to streamline further.
Insight: discernment is a skill. And it starts with what you allow in. The sharper your filter, the stronger your focus.
This month’s reflection…Time is a culture-setter. Pick one meeting, decision, or task you’re still doing, not because it’s high-value, but because it’s familiar, and ditch it.
Then watch what opportunities present themselves in their place.