What Stops You from Taken A Lead?

Talk to any manager on why they are stuck and you’ll hear the same things:

• not enough hours in the day
• not enough people or money
• not enough help from leadership

Those are the stories we tell to our bosses on 1-1s, our friends while having a beer, to our families at the end of the busy week.

But if you dig deeper, you might find these aren't the real problems. Thats a completely logical reasons we are not getting what we want.

But what's really holding managers back?

It's often our own doubts about making calls based on what we think is right.

Simply saying: instead of leading with confidence, we’re busy trying to meet everyone else's expectations.

The Real Deal

I’ve spent years working as a manager myself and talking to managers about their day-to-days. I had all those conversations with my bosses and mentors, I had those conversations with my reports and peers, mentees.

What I’ve seen isn't a lack of trying.

We've got goals, we've got the expertise, but still, we're stuck. We're playing it safe, thinking we don't have the room to act as they really believe they should. Thats rather a mental model that holds us back in 9 times of 10.

Remember the piece "Beware the Busy Manager"? Managers are getting buried down in the process: creating PRDs, writing specs, doing research or building features, pushing team to ship faster. You’re busy but not really getting anywhere.

What put few managers aside: they don’t wait around doing things that they don't believe will get them anywhere.

They do the thing they believe is the right thing to do. They know that a lot of the time, what seems like a fixed rule is more of a guideline. They get that their bosses aren’t looking for someone who just follows orders — they want someone who spots a chance and takes it.

Easy to say, right? What if I do it my way and get fired. My boss won’t support me. It has always been that way. I don’t have time to take that chance now, have to finish other things. Not enough resources.

And here we go back to the point of endless complains and stories we tell ourselves.

So what do you do, mister know-it-all, you say?

Here's the way I frame it, a guide to navigating those crossroads of demands and constraints where managers often get stuck. Whenever you find yourself in one of those positions, think if that the position you contribute from both your inner values and long term goals

• High Demands, Low Constraints (The Driver’s Seat): This is your green light to step on it. Set the goals, steer the projects, and take the lead. Drive your team towards innovation and growth. Be ready to meet consequences and as with high risks you're not only getting high rewards but also will be the only person responsible for losses.
• High Constraints, Low Demands (The Innovator’s Lab): You might feel hemmed in, but there's room to get creative. Optimize what you have, streamline processes, and find new efficiencies. The progress might be close to zero, it might be a lower priority to the company, so you might have close to no resources and will have to be super creative to prove the thing.
• High Demands, High Constraints (The Strategist’s Game): Every move counts. It’s about being shrewd — prioritize what advances your goals and cut the fluff. It's usually where A players find themselves when working on the main bets. Very passionate people can burn themselves to the ground on such projects because they either don't have a right skill and being focused solely on execution, completely missing the bigger picture. But this is the case where you need to be strategic knowing what you should do several steps ahead.
• Low Demands, Low Constraints (The Explorer’s Terrain): You've got an open field. This is the time for big ideas, new projects, and setting your sights on uncharted territories. But no guarantees it will lead anywhere at all. True believers with dedication and discipline will survive. Most people will drop the thing after the first detour.

Here’s what you can do: Stop waiting for permission. If it’s scary - start small.

Start sorting out what’s a must-do from what’s a maybe. Not from your boss perspective, but from the bigger picture: your life and your goals, your aspirations. Figure out what really drives you and put your energy there.

Bukowski once said: Find what you love and let it kill you. (spend your lifetime on it).

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