The Law of Priorities: Why Great Leaders Do Less — and Achieve More

There’s a myth in modern leadership that doing more means leading better.
But the truth? Busyness is not progress. Activity is not accomplishment.

John Maxwell’s Law of Priorities reminds us:

“Leaders understand that activity is not necessarily accomplishment.”

Leadership is about deciding what deserves your best energy — and saying no to everything else.

In a world that rewards multitasking, great leaders stand out by mastering focus.

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1. The Priority Problem of Today’s Leaders

According to McKinsey’s 2025 Leadership Report, executives now spend nearly 60% of their time on low-value tasks — meetings without outcomes, redundant reports, and reactive firefighting.

Filipino managers face the same pattern. A 2024 JobStreet study shows 76% of employees feel their leaders are “too busy to connect.” The result? Misalignment, burnout, and wasted potential.

The biggest leadership crisis today isn’t a lack of passion — it’s a lack of priority.

You can’t lead effectively if everything is urgent and nothing is important.

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2. Understanding the Law of Priorities

Maxwell breaks this principle into three simple truths:

1. Activity ≠ Accomplishment.
   Being busy can make you feel productive but achieve nothing of value.
2. Leaders Must Evaluate Priorities Regularly.
   What mattered last year might not matter now. Leaders who don’t reassess become efficient at the wrong things.
3. High Return, High Reward.
   Focus on activities that give the greatest return — and align with your mission and strengths.

Great leaders aren’t jugglers — they’re editors. They remove what doesn’t belong.

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3. The 3Rs of Priority Leadership

Maxwell recommends leaders evaluate every task through three filters — the 3Rs:

Requirement:

What must I do that no one else can?
Your non-delegables define your leadership role. Everything else is distraction.

Return:

What gives the greatest result for the effort I invest?
If it drains 80% of your time for 20% of results, it’s a poor use of leadership capacity.

Reward:

What fuels your passion and purpose?
Work that energizes you will multiply impact because it engages your best self.

The best leaders schedule time around purpose, not pressure.

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4. Filipino Leadership Context: The “Yes” Culture Trap

In Philippine workplaces, saying “yes” is often a form of respect — to superiors, peers, and even clients. But that cultural courtesy can turn into a leadership trap.

When everything becomes a priority, nothing truly is.

Filipino leaders must learn to say “no” with grace — to guard focus, not ego. That’s not arrogance; that’s stewardship.

As Maxwell puts it: “You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.”

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5. Practical Framework: The Weekly Priority Reset

Here’s a step-by-step routine you can implement every Friday or Monday morning:

1. List all ongoing responsibilities. Don’t filter yet — get it all out.
2. Mark the top three that directly impact your core goals.
3. Delegate, delay, or delete everything that doesn’t align.
4. Time-block your calendar for those top three before anything else.
5. Communicate your focus to your team — so they can align, not compete, with your energy.

If you can’t explain your top three priorities, you don’t have them.

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6. A Filipino Example: The Leader Who Learned to “Do Less”

Meet Rico, a regional sales director based in Taguig.
He was proud of being the “always available” leader — until burnout hit hard.

He attended a leadership coaching session where he discovered Maxwell’s Law of Priorities. His turning point came with one question:

“If you disappeared for a week, what would fall apart — and what would still work?”

He realized he was micromanaging instead of leading. He empowered his team leads to handle operations, blocked his mornings for strategic clients, and dedicated Fridays for mentoring.

In six months, results improved, stress dropped, and his team grew more confident.
Doing less made him lead more.

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7. Leadership Lessons from the Law of Priorities

1. You can do anything, but not everything.
2. Leaders who focus on fewer things accomplish greater things.
3. If you don’t set your priorities, someone else will.
4. Saying no to noise is saying yes to purpose.
5. Your energy is your most limited asset — invest it where it multiplies.

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Key Takeaways

• Busyness isn’t leadership — clarity is.
• Evaluate priorities by requirement, return, and reward.
• Focus is stewardship: you protect what matters most.
• Saying “no” is an act of leadership, not rebellion.
• Great leaders are editors, not jugglers.

👉 Book our Strategic Focus Workshop for your management team — where leaders learn to say “no” so the organization can say “yes” to results.

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