You crushed your to-do list this week. You had back-to-back meetings, cleared your inbox, pushed five projects forward, and even managed to squeeze in a win or two.
But now it’s Friday, and here’s the truth you don’t want to admit: You don’t feel any closer to your actual goals.
This isn’t burnout. It’s something else. It’s the uncomfortable feeling that you’re doing a lot… without getting anywhere that matters.
The Friction Few Leaders Talk About
We celebrate movement in leadership. Busy calendars. Fast action. Hitting targets. Checking boxes.
But high-performing leaders often get caught in the trap of speed without direction. The faster they go, the harder it becomes to stop and ask the hard question:
“Is this taking me somewhere meaningful — or just keeping me in motion?”
This friction point shows up in almost every executive I’ve coached. They don’t realise they’re lost, because the dashboard is full. Activity is high. The engine’s running.
But underneath? They’ve drifted from the strategic path. And because things are still “busy,” they don’t notice the misalignment until results stall — or worse, success feels hollow.
And I know this pattern because I lived it.
For years, I was sprinting hard — leading teams, advising clients, scaling ventures — and mistaking activity for progress. On paper, I was performing. But underneath? I was drifting.
I was saying all the right things to clients while privately veering off course in my own operations. Strategy calls by day, quiet disorientation by night.
The turning point wasn’t dramatic. It was a quiet moment of clarity:
I didn’t need another framework — I needed a compass.
Something that could pull me back into alignment fast,
without needing a full strategy day with my coach or mentor
every time the wheels started to wobble.
The Strategic Sextant was born the moment I admitted that — and did something about it.
Not for show — for survival.
And eventually, for repeatable clarity.
The Deeper Pattern: Motion ≠ Progress
It’s easy to mistake movement for momentum. You build systems. You delegate. You optimise. But you’re still inside the machine — reacting to what the week throws at you, rather than directing it with intent.
This is what I call Momentum Addiction. It’s when leaders keep pushing forward because slowing down feels like weakness — or waste. But it’s not.
Slowing down to check your direction is a strategic move. It separates the reactive operator from the intentional leader.
The Shift: From Motion to Mission
The most effective leaders I’ve worked with don’t just work hard — they stop hard.
They build in moments to recalibrate:
- “Is what I’m doing aligned with what actually matters?”
- “Are we solving the right problems?”
- “Is this task moving us toward our 90-day objective, or just keeping us busy?”
They replace motion with mission. They stop measuring by speed, and start measuring by trajectory.
And when they do that, everything changes:
- The team works on what matters.
- Meetings have purpose.
- Results become consistent — not lucky.
This is not a big strategic overhaul. It’s a 90-second mental reset that recalibrates direction before charging ahead.
The Mistake Most Leaders Make
When this misalignment shows up, most leaders try to fix it with more efficiency.
They look for new apps. Better productivity hacks. Time-blocking frameworks.
But productivity isn’t the problem. Clarity is.
No amount of optimisation can fix a business — or a calendar — that’s heading in the wrong direction.
If the ladder’s leaning against the wrong wall, climbing faster doesn’t help.
Your Leadership Reflection
Here’s the question to sit with:
“Where am I gaining speed… but losing direction?”
If you’re being honest, you already know where it’s happening:
- That part of the business that’s getting attention but no traction.
- That project that feels exciting, but keeps shifting scope.
- That week where you did everything — except move closer to what actually matters.
You don’t need a full strategy day. You just need a moment to stop. Zoom out. And ask: “What’s the real priority right now?”
Want a Reset Tool?
Above, I mentioned the Strategic Sextant.
It’s a leadership micro-tool I developed to help leaders quickly realign action with direction — without needing a whiteboard or strategy day.
If you want the same simple reset I use with clients to do this fast,
You can grab a copy of The Strategic Sextant directly here.
It’s short. It’s sharp. It’ll save you a month of wandering.
