Endless Fires and No Time to Lead? Here’s How to Break the Cycle
Act I: The Hamster Wheel
Alex had always been a high achiever. Early in his career, his knack for solving problems made him a rising star in the organization. Tight deadlines, demanding clients, operational hiccups – Alex handled them all effortlessly. So, when he was promoted to lead the product team, everyone thought it was the natural next step.
But six months into his new role, Alex felt like he was suffocating. His calendar was jam-packed with back-to-back meetings. His phone buzzed constantly with chat messages asking for quick decisions, clarifications, or help resolving last-minute issues. Even late at night, he found himself catching up on operational details. His ambitious goals for the team? Completely buried under the relentless grind of day-to-day chaos.
It didn’t help that his team often started projects without clear guidance. They had good intentions, but Alex could see the cracks forming. Tasks had to be redone, customer needs went unmet, and precious time was wasted fixing problems that should never have existed. The constant churn was creating failure demand—extra work caused by unclear priorities, miscommunication, or misaligned expectations.
Act II: The Breaking Point
One Friday afternoon, Alex sat through yet another meeting discussing rework on a project that had already blown its timeline. As the team analyzed what went wrong, someone hesitated, then spoke up: “We weren’t sure about the priorities, so we just started with what seemed urgent.”
Alex felt a pang of guilt. We guessed. His team was working hard, but their efforts were misaligned because he hadn’t given them the clarity they needed. All his firefighting and micromanaging wasn’t helping—it was holding them back. That evening, staring at the mounting chat notifications on his phone, Alex realized something had to change. He wasn’t leading – he was reacting.
Act III: The Turning Point
The following Monday, Alex reached out to a mentor and laid his frustrations bare. “I’m stuck,” he admitted. “I’m so busy answering questions and managing crises that I don’t have time to set direction. When the team moves forward without clarity, it just leads to rework and delays. It feels like a never-ending cycle.”
His mentor listened carefully. “Alex, I’ve been there,” he said. “The fires won’t stop until you change how you lead. Right now, your team needs three things from you: a vision, clear goals, and a strategy that can be operationalized. Without those, they’re left guessing – and that’s where the problems start.”
This advice struck a chord. Alex realized he’d been so consumed with day-to-day tasks that he hadn’t done the foundational work of a product leader: defining where the team was going, what they needed to achieve, and how to get there.
That week, Alex set aside time to focus on his leadership responsibilities. He started by articulating a clear vision for the team – a compelling “why” that would inspire their work. He then broke this vision down into specific, actionable goals for the next quarter. Finally, he created a strategy to operationalize the goals, outlining the steps, ownership, and key measures of success.
He realized the strategy needed to be simple enough for the team to act independently but comprehensive enough to guide their decisions. His work was just beginning, but Alex felt a renewed sense of purpose and clarity.
Act IV: The Shift
On Tuesday, Alex called a team meeting. “I’ve realized something,” he began. “I’ve been so focused on solving problems that I haven’t been giving you the clarity you need to succeed. That changes now.”
Instead of diving into operational details, Alex shared the framework he had developed: a vision to guide their efforts, goals to focus their energy, and a strategy to help them get there. While he didn’t share every detail immediately, he committed to weaving this clarity into their daily work.
The team also agreed to a new process: no project would start without a shared understanding of its purpose, priorities, and success criteria. Alex began delegating operational responsibilities to senior team members, giving them the autonomy to make decisions and the support they needed to succeed.
The changes weren’t instant, but they were transformative. The team started working with greater confidence and alignment. Rework decreased, customer outcomes improved, and the constant cycle of firefighting began to subside. For the first time in months, Alex felt like he was leading, not just reacting.
Act V: The Lesson
Months later, Alex reflected on the transformation. The hamster wheel was still there, tempting him to jump back on. But now, he knew his job as a leader wasn’t to run faster but to guide his team with clarity and purpose.
Alex’s story is a familiar one for many leaders. The pressures of the day-to-day can make it tempting to dive into the details or let the team proceed without clear guidance. But as Alex learned, the cost of unclear direction is high: wasted effort, frustration, and diminished customer value. Leadership isn’t about doing more – it’s about focusing on what matters most.
How PLC Supports Leaders
At PLC, we specialize in helping leaders like Alex break free from the grind. Here’s how we can help:
- Personal Leadership Coaching: We work one-on-one with leaders to help them develop the mindset and skills needed to articulate a clear vision, set actionable goals, and empower their teams.
- Cultural and Systemic Consulting: Beyond coaching, we address the organizational culture and systemic inefficiencies that lead to failure demand. By creating a culture of clarity and alignment, we help teams work smarter – not harder.
The result? Leaders who confidently guide their teams, foster a culture of clarity, and consistently deliver value to their customers.