Back to Basics
The Personal Disciplines Behind Great Leadership
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We assume they’ve got it all figured out.
By the time someone reaches a CEO or C-suite role, we imagine they’ve mastered time management, are able to stay on top of their inbox (even with help), maintain boundaries, invest in personal growth, and find space to think clearly and act strategically. But in coaching rooms, a different story plays out.
Leaders tell me they’re exhausted. Their calendars are crammed with back-to-back meetings. Their inboxes are relentless. Whatsapp threads are bursting. And weekends are punctuated by Slack pings or a quick scroll through Outlook. There's no time to reflect, to prepare, to switch off - let alone to develop.
They’re not failing. They’re just human. And they’re not alone.
One of the most common - yet least talked about - leadership challenges is managing your own energy and attention. It’s rarely part of formal leadership development, and almost never something a CEO or senior leader will raise publicly. Yet it’s a recurring thread in coaching.
The irony is that the higher you go, the more vital these basics become - and the harder they are to maintain. Leaders are expected to absorb complexity, lead others with clarity, and model sustainable ways of working. But the system often pulls in the opposite direction.
Worse still, these struggles are invisible to the team. When leaders don’t talk about how hard it is for them to stay on top of things, people assume they find it easy - or at the very least that it isn’t an issue. That assumption builds unrealistic expectations, fuels comparison, and keeps the pressure on.
And all of this creates cultures and operational norms that are sustainable for no-one.
In one call with the executive team of a business with over 100 people, the conversation turned to Slack. One by one, they began joking/venting about the volume of messages and how distracting it had become. I paused and challenged them: “If you’re feeling this, your teams will be too. And this is your organisation - you can change it. If you don’t, who will?”
Too often, the small things that drain time and attention become part of the culture simply because no one stops to question them. But when leaders share what they’re struggling with, they not only normalise the experience - they open the door for others to do the same. You can share tips. Spot patterns. Identify what's no longer serving the business. And start to reset the norms, together.
But it has to start with you.
Because here’s what I’ve learned: first, almost every leader struggles, at some point. Second, there’s no single solution. What works for one person might feel impossible for another. And what worked in your last role or phase of life might no longer serve you now.
Your approach to time, energy and attention needs to evolve - just like your leadership.
Some leaders thrive by blocking out thinking time each morning. Others need to start by getting out of reactive email mode. Some benefit from taking a Friday afternoon off the grid; others need permission to protect a lunch break.
These aren’t soft issues - they shape how clearly you think, how effectively you lead, and how sustainably you operate. You don’t need to have it all figured out - but you do need to take ownership of how you manage yourself.
Paying attention to your own patterns is often the first step in creating change for yourself, your team and your business.
Reflect: Even the most capable leaders struggle with the basics. It’s easy to assume you should have mastered time, energy, and email by now. But every new season of leadership brings different demands - and what worked before might not work now. Pause and take stock:
Where do you feel you are most - and least - effective right now?
What personal habit, routine or rhythm used to serve you - but might now be getting in the way?
What’s one small shift you could make to protect margin in your day or week?
Scale: The way you work isn’t just personal - it’s shaped by, and shapes, the system around you. Consider how unspoken norms and everyday patterns may be quietly reinforcing unsustainable ways of working:
Where has busyness become a badge of honour in your organisation?
What conversations are people not having about email, meetings, and expectations?
Where can you leverage your role to shift these patterns - and how might you start?
Share: Your team learns from you - even when you don’t talk about it. When leaders appear to have it all figured out, others may feel pressure to silently keep up. Sharing your own efforts to manage energy and attention can normalise the conversation and open the door for change:
What assumptions might your team hold about how you manage your time and energy?
How could you be more open about something you’re still working on, without undermining your leadership?
What permission could you give others - through your actions or your words - to do things differently?
Read: If you're feeling the squeeze, clients of mine are enjoying Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky. It’s full of small, practical experiments to help you reclaim control of your time and attention. It’s not prescriptive - but it is honest, flexible, and human.
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