The Most Common Leadership Problem: Matching Leadership Priorities with Effort

"Wisdom is knowing what to do next. Skill is knowing how to do it. Virtue is doing it." —Thomas Jefferson

My average client is a talented, experienced, hardworking leader. They are knowledgeable and skilled. They are usually good at executing and making things happen. They also struggle with identifying and managing leadership priorities when everything feels equally urgent.

At the same time, many feel overwhelmed by competing demands or multiple opportunities. Possibly the most common issue I hear leaders say is, “I can’t get it all done.”

And that’s the problem: It all feels equally important. But it isn’t.

“Knowing what to do next”

This is the ability to define and defend leadership priorities. Many leaders see this as a luxury—reserved for that mystical unicorn of a leader who has all the resources they want and none of the problems.

But like unicorns, that leader isn’t real.

But leaders who consistently make dramatic progress toward their goals and seem to have time for family and other interests do exist.

The difference is, they learned to get good at deciding what they will and won’t put energy into.

My friend (and bestselling author and coach) Craig Ballantyne says, “Don't put level 1 effort into level 10 problems, and stop placing level 10 effort into level 1 issues.”

Many leadership challenges stem from a mismatch between what they say is a priority and where they actually put their energy.

What makes defining and defending priorities challenging?

• Tyranny of the urgent: Confusing an immediate (or loud) demand for your attention with importance.
• Emotions: Our own emotional state can make it difficult to navigate priorities. Fear, excitement, or personal preferences can all cloud our judgment.
• Pleasing others: We often need to juggle competing demands on our time and attention. Many people in our lives have their hand up in the air saying, “Me first!”
• Discomfort with making decisions: Many leadership decisions don’t have a clear ‘right’ answer. This can create anxiety for some people and a tendency to put off decision-making.

You might be able to add to this list. The point is, the best leaders learn to navigate this. They aren’t easily confused about what is a priority, and they don’t forget.

What are your top one or two “Level 10” issues for the coming year?

They might be problems or opportunities.

• What would be the impact of putting Level 10 effort into those issues?
• What progress or change might you make over the remainder of this year?
• What might you achieve if you only gave it Level 1 (or 2 or 3) effort?
• Does your answer to the last question feel acceptable to you? (If that’s the case, then I doubt you accurately identified a Level 10 issue.)

The next step

What would it look like to put Level 10 effort into one of your Level 10 leadership priorities?

• How much time would you need to dedicate?
• When would you make that time?
• What other resources might be needed?
• Are you able and willing to allocate those resources?

Success, most often, comes to those who choose it. To everyone else, that looks like luck, chance, or blessing. By choosing success, I don’t mean choosing to ‘just receive’ the results. I mean consistently choosing to do the things that build success and not choosing the things that don’t.

Try it. Put Level 10 into your Level 10 leadership priorities. Watch what happens.

Take good care,

Christian

P.S. If you're ready to stop feeling pulled in every direction and start making meaningful progress on what matters most— ?? Download my free guide: “How to Change Your Leadership Mindset in 21 Days.”

It’s designed to help you refocus, realign, and reclaim your time and impact—one day at a time.