At some point, every founder asks the same question—usually with a mix of confusion and irritation: “Why can’t my managers just decide?”
The meetings are done. The data is there. The options are clear. And still—nothing moves. Deadlines slip. Targets wobble. Decisions feel permanently “in progress.”
It’s tempting to conclude that the managers are the problem. Too cautious. Too passive. Not leadership material.
That conclusion is convenient. It’s also wrong.
Most managers aren’t slow by nature. They’re waiting—because the system trained them to.
Let’s look at what actually happens inside many organizations.
Early on, founders make decisions fast. That’s how companies survive. Speed is survival. As the company grows, managers are hired to help distribute the load. Roles are defined. Titles are given. Authority is implied—but rarely made explicit.
So managers start working. They plan. They analyze. They raise issues. But when it’s time to decide, something subtle kicks in: hesitation.
Not because they don’t know what to do—but because they’re not sure what they’re allowed to do.
Ownership is unclear. Boundaries are fuzzy. And past behavior taught them an important lesson: big decisions tend to get overridden, revisited, or escalated anyway.
So they adapt.
They prepare decks instead of decisions. They ask for alignment instead of acting. They escalate instead of owning the risk.
Decision escalation becomes self-protection. If the call goes wrong, at least it wasn’t their call.
Meanwhile, founders step in—not to control, but to keep things moving. A delayed decision gets resolved in five minutes at the top. A stuck issue finally moves once the founder weighs in. From the founder’s perspective, this feels efficient.
From the system’s perspective, it sends a powerful signal: “Wait long enough, and this will come back up here.”
That signal spreads fast.
Managers stop deciding because deciding doesn’t stick. Teams slow down because approval feels safer than action. And the founder—ironically—becomes the bottleneck they never wanted to be.
This is where missed company targets quietly enter the picture.
Not through dramatic failure. Through hesitation.
Projects don’t derail—they stall. Opportunities aren’t lost—they expire. Execution doesn’t collapse—it drags. The company stays busy but oddly unproductive. Everyone is working. Very few things are landing.
Leadership often responds by pushing urgency. More check-ins. More follow-ups. More reminders to “take ownership.”
But urgency without permission just increases anxiety. It doesn’t create speed.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: speed is not a personality trait. It’s a design outcome.
Managers move fast when ownership is clear. They decide when authority is explicit. They lead when decisions don’t boomerang back to the top.
If every decision is second-guessed, escalated, or reclaimed, managers learn the safest move is to wait. And waiting, in that system, is not incompetence—it’s intelligence.
Founder bottlenecks are not caused by weak managers. They’re created when founders unintentionally centralize trust while decentralizing responsibility.
When that happens, managers don’t stop caring. They stop committing.
And when commitment disappears, targets don’t stand a chance.
So if your organization feels slow, the question isn’t “Why won’t they decide?” It’s “What happens when they do?”
Because until deciding is safe, respected, and final—your managers aren’t slow.
Deadlines slip. Quality is inconsistent. Decisions take too long. Work keeps coming back for revision.
And it’s confusing—because the team is good.
They’re smart. They’re capable. They care about the business.
So why does growth still feel blocked?
This is one of the most common and most misunderstood problems in growing companies: leaders think growth is being held back by people, when it’s really being held back by the system around them.
Let’s start with a familiar scene.
A leader sits in a meeting reviewing missed targets. They feel frustrated—not angry, just tired. They’ve explained expectations. They’ve hired carefully. They’ve invested time in coaching.
Yet the same issues keep showing up.
Work isn’t owned cleanly. People hesitate. Accountability feels uneven.
The quiet thought creeps in: “Do I have the right people?”
That thought is dangerous—not because it’s always wrong, but because it’s often incomplete.
In most cases, the people aren’t the problem. They’re reacting to an unclear environment.
Here’s what usually happens as companies grow.
In the early days, roles are loose. Everyone does a bit of everything. Decisions happen quickly because people talk directly. There’s little confusion because everyone is close to the work.
Then growth kicks in.
More people are hired. Roles are created. Work gets divided. And without anyone really noticing, clarity starts to fade.
Who owns what becomes blurry. What matters most isn’t always obvious. Decisions move up because no one wants to overstep.
People start guessing.
Some step back to avoid mistakes. Some work harder to compensate. Some escalate everything to be safe.
From the leader’s seat, this looks like a people issue.
“Why aren’t they taking ownership?” “Why do I have to keep checking?” “Why does everything need my approval?”
But from the team’s seat, it feels different.
“I’m not sure if this is mine.” “I don’t want to decide the wrong thing.” “I don’t know what matters most right now.”
Good people don’t become unreliable overnight. They become cautious in unclear systems.
This is the part many leaders miss: behavior follows clarity.
When ownership is clear, people step up. When priorities are clear, people focus. When success is clear, people deliver.
When those things aren’t clear, people protect themselves.
That protection shows up as hesitation, inconsistency, and dependence.
And the leader, trying to keep things moving, steps in.
You review more. You approve more. You correct more.
Not because you don’t trust your team—but because the system doesn’t support them.
Over time, this creates a painful loop.
Leaders feel burdened. Teams feel micromanaged. Both sides feel misunderstood.
The leader believes the team isn’t stepping up. The team believes the leader doesn’t trust them.
The real issue sits quietly in the middle: unclear design of work.
One leader I worked with said it honestly:
“I kept saying we had people problems. What we really had was confusion everywhere.”
That realization changed how they approached growth.
Instead of pushing the team harder, they started cleaning up how work was set up.
They clarified who owns what—and stuck to it. They defined what decisions people could make on their own. They simplified priorities so teams knew what mattered most.
Nothing fancy. Just clarity.
The impact was immediate.
People stopped waiting. Decisions moved faster. Quality became more consistent.
Not because the people changed—but because the environment did.
This is the “after” state leaders rarely connect back to system design.
When systems are clear, people look capable. When systems are messy, people look unreliable.
The same team. Two very different outcomes.
This is why hiring more people rarely fixes “people problems.” It often makes them worse. More people in an unclear system means more confusion, more handoffs, and more waiting.
The smarter move is to fix clarity first.
Ask different questions.
Instead of “Why didn’t this get done right?” Ask, “Was ownership clear?”
Instead of “Why did this come back to me?” Ask, “Did they know what they could decide?”
Instead of “Why is the team slow?” Ask, “Do they know what matters most this week?”
When leaders ask these questions honestly, the blame dissolves—and progress begins.
The biggest shift is emotional.
Leaders stop feeling like they’re carrying everyone. Teams stop feeling like they’re walking on eggshells.
Trust grows—not because of speeches, but because the system finally makes sense.
Growth starts moving again.
So if your business feels stuck because of “people problems,” pause before changing the people.
There’s a good chance you already have the right team.
What they need isn’t pressure. It’s clarity.
And once clarity is in place, the same people you worried about often surprise you.
Now here’s the question worth ending on:
If the system made ownership and priorities clear, how differently would your team show up tomorrow?
You open your inbox. Your phone lights up. Someone needs an answer. Someone needs approval. Something needs fixing—now.
By lunchtime, you’ve already made dozens of small decisions. By the end of the day, you’re exhausted. And yet, when you pause and ask yourself what actually moved the business forward, the answer feels unclear.
You were busy all day. But very little felt important.
This is the quiet problem many company leaders live with: everything feels urgent, but progress feels slow.
And it’s confusing, because urgency looks like action. Things are moving. People are responding. Problems are being handled. From the outside, the business looks alive.
From the inside, it feels reactive.
Let’s talk about how this happens.
Most businesses don’t start this way. In the early days, urgency is real. When you’re small, a few decisions truly matter right now. Everyone knows what’s important because the goals are clear and close.
Then the company grows.
More people join. More work flows in. More clients, more requests, more moving parts. Slowly, urgency spreads—not because everything is critical, but because nothing is clearly defined.
Someone asks for a decision because they’re unsure. Someone escalates an issue “just in case.” Someone marks something urgent because they don’t want to be blamed.
None of it is malicious. It’s survival.
Over time, leaders become the filter for everything.
You’re asked to decide not because you should—but because no one else feels safe deciding. You’re pulled in not because it’s strategic—but because the rules are unclear.
Urgency becomes the default language of the business.
And that’s dangerous.
When everything is urgent, leaders stop thinking. They react. They respond. They fix. They jump from issue to issue, solving problems that feel necessary in the moment but don’t change the direction of the company.
Important work—real work—gets postponed.
Strategy waits. Improvements wait. Clarity waits.
Urgency crowds out importance.
Many leaders respond by trying to manage time better. They block calendars. They delegate more. They try to say no.
But the problem isn’t time. The problem is how urgency is created.
Most urgency isn’t real. It’s manufactured by unclear decisions and unclear ownership.
When people don’t know what matters most, they treat everything as urgent. When they don’t know who decides, they escalate. When they don’t know what can wait, they interrupt.
Urgency is not a speed issue. It’s a clarity issue.
One leader described it perfectly:
“I feel like I’m running all day, but the business isn’t really moving.”
That feeling doesn’t come from laziness or poor discipline. It comes from a system that turns every small issue into a leadership interruption.
The shift happens when leaders stop reacting to urgency and start designing importance.
Instead of asking, “What needs my attention today?” They ask, “What should never reach me in the first place?”
Instead of responding to everything marked urgent, they clarify:
What truly needs immediate attention
What can wait
What should be handled without escalation
This sounds simple, but it’s uncomfortable at first.
Leaders worry things will break. Teams worry they’ll make mistakes.
But something surprising usually happens.
When rules are clear, urgency drops.
People stop escalating everything. Teams decide faster. Leaders get fewer interruptions—not because they’re unavailable, but because the system works.
One company discovered that most “urgent” issues were only urgent because no one knew the priority rules. Once those were clear, the noise disappeared.
Meetings shortened. Messages slowed down. Decisions became calmer.
The business didn’t move slower. It moved better.
This is the “after” state leaders don’t expect.
When urgency fades, importance finally has space.
Leaders think again. Teams focus again. Work that actually matters gets done.
The biggest surprise is emotional. Leaders feel lighter—not because there’s less responsibility, but because they’re no longer reacting all day.
They lead instead of firefight.
The mistake many leaders make is believing urgency equals performance. It doesn’t. Constant urgency usually signals a system that hasn’t been designed to scale.
Important work needs protection. Urgent work needs boundaries.
Without those, leaders burn out quietly while progress stalls politely.
So if everything in your business feels urgent right now, don’t assume the problem is workload or discipline.
Chances are, urgency has simply replaced clarity.
Fix clarity, and urgency loses its power.
And here’s the question worth ending on:
If only three things truly mattered this week, what would finally stop interrupting you?
More clients. More messages. More meetings. More updates.
Your team looked busy—very busy. Everyone was working hard. Calendars were full. Tasks were moving. From the outside, the business looked successful.
But as the leader, you felt something wasn’t right.
Decisions took longer. Small issues kept landing on your desk. People waited instead of acting. You were involved in things you shouldn’t even be seeing anymore.
The business wasn’t broken. But it wasn’t moving as smoothly as it should.
This is the problem many company leaders face once they grow past a certain size. Not chaos. Not failure. Stuck momentum.
And it’s dangerous because it’s easy to ignore.
You tell yourself, “We’re just busy.” You say, “This is part of growth.” You assume, “Once we hire more people, it’ll get better.”
But it usually doesn’t.
Here’s the truth most leaders eventually realize: your people aren’t the problem. The way work moves is.
Let me tell you a familiar story.
A founder I worked with ran a growing professional services firm. Smart team. Good clients. Solid reputation. Revenue was climbing.
Yet every week felt heavier.
She was approving things that should’ve been decided lower down. She was asked the same questions repeatedly. Reports arrived late. Follow-ups were constant. She felt like the business couldn’t move unless she pushed it.
When we talked, she said something that stuck:
“I feel like I’m running faster just to stay in the same place.”
That’s not a motivation issue. That’s not a talent issue.
That’s an efficiency issue hiding in plain sight.
As companies grow, work quietly becomes messy. Tasks pile up. Steps get added “just in case.” Updates are done manually. People double-check everything. Meetings exist because clarity doesn’t.
No one planned it that way. It just happened.
Over time, your best people spend more time coordinating work than doing meaningful work. And you, as the leader, become the safety net for every unclear step.
This is where many leaders make a common mistake: they push people harder.
They ask for faster replies. They demand more accountability. They add more meetings.
But pushing harder on a messy system only creates more noise.
The smarter move is to clean the system, not exhaust the people.
This is where a simple shift changes everything.
Instead of asking, “Why are people slow?” You ask, “Why does this task need so many steps?”
Instead of asking, “Why do I need to approve this?” You ask, “Why isn’t this decision already clear?”
Instead of asking, “Why does this take so long?” You ask, “What part of this should not need a human at all?”
When leaders start asking these questions, something interesting happens.
They realize that a big chunk of the work their teams do every day is repeatable. Predictable. The same steps, over and over again. Copying information. Sending reminders. Updating lists. Preparing the same reports.
None of it requires deep thinking. But all of it consumes time.
This is where simple automation makes sense—not fancy tools, not complicated systems. Just letting routine work move on its own instead of passing through people.
In that same firm, we started small.
We looked at how work came in. How it was tracked. How updates were shared. How decisions were escalated.
Then we removed unnecessary steps.
Updates stopped being chased. Reports stopped being manually prepared. Simple decisions stopped going to the founder.
Nothing dramatic. Just cleaner flow.
A few weeks later, the founder said something unexpected:
“I feel lighter. The business finally moves without me pushing it.”
That’s the outcome every decision-maker actually wants.
Not more dashboards. Not more tools. Not more staff.
Just a business that runs without constant effort.
The real win isn’t saving time for the sake of time. The real win is getting your thinking time back.
When routine work moves on its own, leaders stop firefighting. They focus on growth, relationships, strategy, and direction. Teams act with confidence instead of waiting. Clients feel faster service without extra cost.
This is how companies become competitive—not by working longer hours, but by removing unnecessary work.
The uncomfortable truth is this: most growing companies don’t need more people. They need less friction.
And friction hides in places leaders rarely look—between steps, between handoffs, between “this is how we’ve always done it.”
That’s why the smartest starting point isn’t buying another tool.
It’s stepping back and asking:
Where is time being wasted? Where are people repeating the same work? Where am I involved only because the process isn’t clear?
Once you see that clearly, the fixes become obvious—and often surprisingly simple.
So if your business looks busy but feels stuck, don’t assume something is wrong with your people.
Chances are, the system just needs to be cleaned up.
And once it is, you may find that growth finally feels the way it’s supposed to—lighter, calmer, and under control.
Now here’s the question worth sitting with:
If your best people got five hours back every week, what would your business finally be able to do?
Why Your Daily Habits (Not Your Talent) Will Determine Your Future.
Are You Waiting for Your “Big Break,” Or Are You Building It?
Ever scrolled through Instagram, seen someone famous, smart, or just ridiculously successful, and thought, “Man, they’re just lucky?” Or maybe, “They just have a natural talent I don’t?” We’ve all been there. It’s easy to look at the finish line of someone else’s success and completely miss the starting gun, the endless training, and the thousand tiny steps they took when no one was watching.
Here’s a mind-blowing truth bomb: Talent is overrated. Seriously.
Think about it: How many incredibly talented athletes, brilliant students, or creative geniuses do you know who never quite “made it”? They had the raw potential, the natural gifts, the sky-high IQ. But they lacked one crucial ingredient that transforms potential into power.
And that ingredient? It’s something you might consider… well, boring. It’s something your parents probably nag you about. It’s the unsexy, unglamorous, often-skipped superpower that every truly successful leader possesses: Self-Discipline.
In a world obsessed with instant gratification and viral fame, we’re being sold a lie: that leadership is a destination you arrive at, a title you’re given, or a talent you’re born with. But what if I told you that leadership isn’t a flash in the pan, but a slow burn? What if the most impactful leaders aren’t found in a single moment of brilliance, but in the relentless grind of everyday choices?
This isn’t just some motivational poster fluff. This is the Law of Process, a foundational truth laid bare by the grandmaster of leadership, John C. Maxwell:
The Law of Process: “Leadership develops daily, not in a day.”
This isn’t just a principle; it’s a blueprint for your future success, whether you want to lead a company, a community, or just your own life with purpose. And if you truly grasp this “boring” secret, you’ll unlock a future far more exciting than any fleeting TikTok trend.
The Microwave Myth: Why Leadership Isn’t Instant Noodles
In our fast-paced world, we want everything now. Instant coffee, instant messages, instant success stories. We’ve become “microwave leaders” in our expectations. We see a CEO on a magazine cover and assume they zapped their way to the top. We see a star athlete win a championship and forget the decade of early mornings and missed parties.
But true leadership, the kind that lasts and actually makes an impact, is more like a crock-pot meal. It takes time. It’s slow-cooked. It requires consistent heat and ingredients added daily. You can’t rush it, and you certainly can’t fake it.
The “Microwave Myth” tricks us into believing:
Myth: Leadership is a title you’re given.
Reality: Leadership is a capacity you earn through consistent action.
Myth: One big break will make you a leader.
Reality: A thousand small, disciplined efforts build a leader.
Myth: Some people are just “natural-born leaders.”
Reality: Everyone, even the “naturals,” must intentionally develop their skills.
John Maxwell hammered this point home. He understood that you don’t wake up one morning and suddenly become a leader. You wake up every morning, make intentional choices, practice essential habits, learn from mistakes, and through that process, you grow into a leader. It’s like working out: you don’t get strong in one intense gym session. You get strong by showing up daily, doing the reps, and gradually increasing the challenge.
Shocking Stat Alert: Studies show that Grit (passion and perseverance for long-term goals), which is essentially sustained self-discipline, is a better predictor of academic and career success than IQ. So, your ability to stick with things, even when they’re tough or boring, is more valuable than just being smart!
The Champion’s Routine: What Happens When Nobody’s Watching
Let’s talk about champions. Whether it’s an Olympic gold medalist, a world-renowned scientist, or the valedictorian of your class, what do they have in common? It’s not just talent. It’s their routine.
Imagine an athlete. They are recognized as a champion when they win the medal in front of cheering crowds. But they were created as a champion in the silent, lonely hours of training: the early morning runs, the strict diet, the repeated drills, the pushing through pain, the studying of their opponents. That’s where the Law of Process lives.
Leadership is exactly the same. You are recognized as a leader when you successfully launch a project, inspire your team, or solve a major problem. But you were created as that leader through the daily disciplines no one else sees:
Reading books on leadership and personal development.
Practicing difficult conversations.
Taking responsibility for your mistakes.
Learning from criticism.
Showing up consistently, even when you don’t feel like it.
Managing your time effectively.
This is the power of Self-Discipline. It’s the commitment to doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, whether you feel like it or not. It’s choosing your long-term goals over your short-term desires. And it’s the engine that powers the Law of Process, transforming potential into undeniable results.
Self-Discipline = Freedom: A Counter-Intuitive Truth
Wait, what? “Discipline equals freedom”? That sounds like something a drill sergeant would yell. But it’s profoundly true.
Think about it:
Discipline with your studies = Freedom from stress during exam week, freedom to pursue your dream college.
Discipline with your finances = Freedom from debt, freedom to pursue opportunities later in life.
Discipline with your health = Freedom from illness, freedom to have energy for everything you want to do.
Without self-discipline, you are a slave to your impulses, your moods, and whatever shiny distraction pops up on your phone. You’re reacting, not creating. You’re letting the world lead you, instead of you leading your world.
A disciplined leader isn’t restricted; they are liberated. They have the mental clarity and the consistent habits to:
Focus on what matters: Not get sidetracked by trivial tasks.
Make tough decisions: Even when unpopular, knowing they align with long-term goals.
Inspire trust: Because their actions are consistent and reliable.
Overcome obstacles: By persistently working through challenges.
This is the “secret” that isn’t really a secret. It’s accessible to everyone. You don’t need a special talent or a rich family. You just need to choose to commit to the process, daily.
The 1% Rule: The Astonishing Power of Small Daily Gains
If “leadership develops daily, not in a day,” how much development are we talking about? Do you need to reinvent yourself every morning? Thankfully, no.
Enter the 1% Rule. Imagine getting just 1% better at something every single day. Sounds tiny, right? Almost negligible.
But here’s the magic of compound interest, applied to your personal growth:
1% better every day for a year doesn’t just mean 365% better. It means you are 37 times better than when you started! (1.01^365 = 37.78).
Conversely, if you get 1% worse every day (slack off just a tiny bit), you end up almost at zero by the end of the year! (0.99^365 = 0.03).
This is why daily discipline is so incredibly powerful. It’s not about grand gestures; it’s about micro-actions. It’s about consistently showing up, even when you don’t feel like it, and making that tiny 1% improvement.
Examples of the 1% Rule in Action for a Leader:
Reading: 10 minutes of a leadership book daily. Over a year, that’s dozens of books and thousands of pages of wisdom.
Planning: 5 minutes daily planning your most important tasks. Saves hours of wasted time and increases productivity dramatically.
Communication: Sending one thoughtful “thank you” message or giving one piece of genuine feedback daily. Builds immense goodwill and connection over time.
Skill Practice: 15 minutes practicing a new skill (e.g., public speaking, coding, a musical instrument). The cumulative effect is staggering.
The key is consistency, fueled by self-discipline. It’s the ultimate long-game strategy, and it’s how leaders are forged in the quiet moments before they step onto the public stage.
Uphill Habits vs. Downhill Habits: Choose Your Slope Wisely
When it comes to daily actions, you have two categories:
Uphill Habits: These are the actions that are often hard in the moment, require discipline, and feel like work, but they pay massive dividends in the long run. They move you up towards your goals.
Examples: Studying for an hour, exercising, learning a new skill, planning your week, having a difficult but necessary conversation, saving money.
Downhill Habits: These are the actions that are easy and comfortable in the moment, require no discipline, and feel good, but they lead you down away from your goals. They provide instant gratification but long-term regret.
Examples: Endless social media scrolling, binge-watching TV, procrastinating on homework, eating unhealthy food, gossiping.
The disciplined leader consistently chooses Uphill Habits. They understand that short-term pain leads to long-term gain. The undisciplined person constantly opts for Downhill Habits, seeking immediate comfort and paying the price with missed opportunities and unfulfilled potential.
It’s not about being perfect. Everyone has Downhill moments. The difference is the leader who recognizes it, self-regulates (remember that from the last article?), and intentionally steers back towards the Uphill path. This is the essence of resilience.
Your Leadership Challenge: Building Your Daily Process
So, how do you start building this “boring” but incredibly powerful process?
Identify Your 1% Uphill Habit: What’s one small, daily action that, if consistently done, would make the biggest difference in your growth? (e.g., 10 minutes of reading, 5 minutes of planning, 30 minutes on a project).
Schedule It. Non-Negotiable: Treat this small habit like the most important appointment of your day. Put it on your calendar. Don’t skip it.
Find Your Downhill Blocker: What’s one easy, distracting habit that consistently pulls you away from your Uphill habit? (e.g., phone notifications, video games).
Create a “No-Fly Zone”: For the time you’re doing your Uphill habit, eliminate the Downhill blocker. Put your phone away, close unnecessary tabs.
Track Your Wins: Keep a simple habit tracker. Seeing your streak grow is incredibly motivating. Celebrate small victories!
Remember, leadership isn’t just for presidents or CEOs. You are a leader every time you influence others, every time you take responsibility, and every time you choose purpose over impulse. And that leadership is built, piece by painstaking piece, every single day.
The Takeaway for the Next Generation of Leaders
Forget the myth of overnight success. The most impactful leaders you’ll ever meet are simply individuals who committed to the Law of Process and leveraged the power of Self-Discipline. They understood that true influence isn’t about being given a title; it’s about consistently earning it through daily, intentional growth.
Your talent will get you noticed, but only your self-discipline will keep you growing and make you indispensable. The future isn’t about who’s the smartest; it’s about who’s the most consistent.
So, if you looked at your calendar today, could you identify the single 1% discipline you are doing that proves you are committed to the long, worthy process of becoming a leader?
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.
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.
2. Understanding the Law of Priorities
Maxwell breaks this principle into three simple truths:
Activity ≠ Accomplishment. Being busy can make you feel productive but achieve nothing of value.
Leaders Must Evaluate Priorities Regularly. What mattered last year might not matter now. Leaders who don’t reassess become efficient at the wrong things.
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.
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.
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.”
5. Practical Framework: The Weekly Priority Reset
Here’s a step-by-step routine you can implement every Friday or Monday morning:
List all ongoing responsibilities. Don’t filter yet — get it all out.
Mark the top three that directly impact your core goals.
Delegate, delay, or delete everything that doesn’t align.
Time-block your calendar for those top three before anything else.
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.
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.
7. Leadership Lessons from the Law of Priorities
You can do anything, but not everything.
Leaders who focus on fewer things accomplish greater things.
If you don’t set your priorities, someone else will.
Saying no to noise is saying yes to purpose.
Your energy is your most limited asset — invest it where it multiplies.
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.
Too many companies have untrained leaders that fail. 