Why Your Leadership Mindset of Constant Doing Might Be Costing You More Than You Think

Introduction:

Walk into any organization today and you’ll find a familiar rhythm: meetings, reports, Slack pings, emails, PowerPoints, dashboards. Busyness isn’t just a habit—it’s a culture.

Leaders are rewarded for doing: being efficient, responsive, productive. But in this hyper-reactive state, something vital is being lost: the space to think, see the whole system, ask deeper questions, and connect to what truly matters.

We’ve become masters of execution—and strangers to reflection and deep thinking. We are in such a hurry to deliver and do so at speed, that we are not really delivering! Short - yes, but longer term - no!

I think back to corporate life when the new CEO was arriving, we were activated into delivery mode. Working late creating PowerPoints, discussion papers, preparing for him. Many people - many hours - countless after hours work. Time which actually turned out to be a waste of time.

Why do we need to reframe work?

As an Organizational Psychologist working with leaders, I’ve seen how this overemphasis on “doing mode” limits innovation, stifles engagement, and pushes organizations into short-term cycles of control and cost-cutting. The moment there's financial pressure or uncertainty, leadership often kicks into “doing” mode: tighten, cut, execute. It’s fast, it's efficient—and it feels like action.

But too often, it’s reactive and short-sighted. Each time cost cuts roll through, I’ve watched the same thing happen: morale drops, collaboration stops, and some of the best, most creative work grinds to a halt. People become afraid to challenge the approach. When I’ve suggested alternatives—like focusing on growth opportunities, surfacing hidden value, or cutting actual waste—I’ve often been met with a firm no.

In contrast, “spacious mode”—a term coined in a recent HBR article by Megan Reitz and John Higgins—invites us to lead differently. It opens us up to broader awareness, relationships, interdependencies, and long-term value creation.

A case in point: when one executive was asked to make urgent cost reductions and initiate layoffs, he didn’t respond reactively. Instead of narrowing in, he opened up—he invited his team into a deeper conversation about purpose and overlooked assets. The result? Layoffs avoided. A new revenue-generating programme. Tens of millions in value unlocked.

There's a lot of value to be created here, IF, we can shift our mindset away from what seems the right thing to do.

5 Pain Points of the Doing-Only Leadership Mindset

1. Leaders are stuck in “reaction mode”

Most leaders are so overwhelmed with input—emails, meetings, decisions—they rarely get the time or permission to zoom out. Microsoft’s Work Trend Index found workers are interrupted every 2 minutes. The result? Reactive leadership. Big decisions made in small windows, without broader context or clarity because there's no time!

2. Creativity and innovation flatline

Doing mode keeps us focused on known tasks. It’s efficient, but it’s also linear. Without space for divergent thinking, innovation doesn’t just slow—it dies. Spacious mode is where breakthroughs happen. Without it, we default to “what’s worked before,” even when the context has changed. I can't tell you how often I've heard; "Just do it, we don't have time to change."

3. Disengagement grows silently

Employees sense when their leaders are too busy to notice them. They disengage—not loudly, but quietly. Dr. Zach Mercurio says that we have a “mattering deficit.” When people don’t feel seen, valued, or included in the bigger picture, performance, loyalty, and wellbeing all drop. Instead of maximising the collective intelligence of our people, we are focusing on getting what we need from them to deliver. As one leader I interviewed said; "I am just expected to execute, not think."

4. Short-termism becomes the strategy

When we stay locked in doing mode, we prioritize speed over substance. Leaders race to deliver metrics for the next quarter, cutting costs without questioning deeper opportunities. Like the departments in the HBR case study that rushed into layoffs—missing entirely what was possible with more expansive thinking. Take note from Herb Kelleher, the legendary CEO from SouthWest Airlines who sold a plane rather than laying off people. - prioritising employee morale, focusing on the longer term impact.

5. Leadership blind spots go unchallenged

Many leaders assume they’re open and spacious—but studies show the more senior someone is, the more they overestimate how approachable and inclusive they are. Without pausing for real feedback or space to reflect, these blind spots calcify into cultural norms—and become costly over time. I've seen brilliant CEO's fade into not so great leaders because the business environment changed and they didn't!

5 Things Leaders Can Start Doing Differently

1. Create strategic space—intentionally

Spacious thinking doesn’t happen by accident. Leaders must design for it. Block thinking time. Begin meetings with reflective questions (“What have we learned recently that surprised us?”). Resist the urge to fill every meeting with deliverables. Sometimes, insight is the outcome.

“We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience.”— John Dewey, philosopher and psychologist

Action: Start one meeting a week with a “thinking round” instead of a status update. Ask your team what’s not being said or seen.

2. Involve your team in complex challenges

Take a cue from Soren, the executive in the HBR article. When asked to cut costs, he brought his team into a purpose-driven dialogue—not to offload the decision, but to tap into their collective intelligence. That led to innovation, not attrition.

Action: When facing a difficult decision, ask: “Who else has a valuable perspective on this?” Don’t wait for answers—invite them.

3. Shift what you reward

In most companies, the loudest applause goes to the fastest finishers. But when do we reward curiosity? Reflection? Learning from failure? What gets recognised gets repeated.

Action: Publicly acknowledge spacious behaviours—like someone who raised a difficult question, paused to reframe a challenge, or encouraged others to slow down and think.

4. Make mattering visible

People don’t just want feedback—they want to feel that their work has meaning. The best leaders make the invisible visible: they name contributions, tie effort to purpose, and show people why their role matters.

"Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person—not just an employee—are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled.”— Anne M. Mulcahy, former CEO of Xerox

Action: Regularly, tell team members the impact of their work beyond the task: “Here’s why what you did really mattered…”

5. Use AI to create space, not fill it

AI can supercharge productivity—but that’s not the point. The real opportunity is using AI to reduce cognitive overload and create more space for human connection, creativity, and coaching.

Action: Automate repetitive admin. Use the time saved to develop your people. Have a real conversation instead of another slide deck review.

Closing Thoughts:

Leadership isn’t just about getting things done—it’s about making space for the right things to emerge. We are not machines, and neither are the people we lead.

Let’s stop running organisations like factory floors and start treating them like ecosystems—alive, dynamic, and full of untapped potential.

Because when leaders make space for people to think, connect, and matter… That’s when businesses grow.

Read this HBR article:

The best Leaders encourage spacious thinking

If you think your company needs support with leadership DM me. There are lots of ways to start and often we start small.