Your Hunger for “Completion” Is Holding You Back...
Are you struggling to create lasting change in how you lead – and the outcomes?
Rather than your abilities – or willingness – to learn, the problem might be an addiction to activity, quick wins, completion, checking tasks off the list.
The Speed Trap
In today’s fast-paced business environment, we’re conditioned to respond quickly to every notification, email, and crisis.
This constant stream of urgency creates a visceral need for rapid accomplishment.
We feel productive when we’re checking items off our to-do list and solving immediate problems.
But here’s the paradox:
This very hunger for personal efficiency – that makes us feel successful – can actually block our growth as leaders.
The Learning-Speed Disconnect
Developing as a leader requires a fundamentally different approach from our usual day-to-day fast pace. To truly grow, we need to:
- Slow down intentionally
- Step into uncertainty (and make mistakes)
- Try new approaches (if we’re really trying, some that may fail)
- Collect feedback
- Reflect on outcomes
Breaking the Quick-Win Addiction
The challenge isn’t just about finding time – it’s about changing our relationship with time itself.
When we’re constantly chasing the next accomplishment, we fail to enter true learning mode. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle where:
- We consume leadership content superficially
- We don’t give ourselves space or context to implement
- We miss opportunities for real behavior change
- We return frequently to our comfort zone of “quick wins”
The Path Forward
To break this cycle, we need to fundamentally redesign how we approach leadership development. Here’s what works:
1. Create Implementation Space & Context To coaching, leader development programs, 1:1’s… Organizations need to build in dedicated time and application context so that leaders can process and apply new learning.
Without this space and context, even the best content becomes merely intellectual entertainment.
2. Embrace Social LearningIndividual development without reinforcement loses value quickly. Real growth happens when we learn together, share experiences, and support each other’s experiments in leadership.
3. Shift from Accountability to CuriosityInstead of forcing rigid implementation of leadership concepts, approach your growth with curiosity. Turn your leadership journey into an ongoing experiment, collecting data about what works for you and your team (and naming what doesn’t work/ what you’re learning).
4. Design for Deep EngagementSurface-level skimming of leadership content – of ANY content – won’t create lasting personal change. We need to engage deeply and repetitively with fewer concepts rather than trying to absorb and apply everything at once.
The Bottom Line
The most effective thing you can do as a leader is to have regular, relationship-affirming conversations with each team member. But to develop this and other crucial leadership capabilities, you first need to break free from the addiction to quick wins.
Are you ready to slow down to speed up your leadership growth?
Share your experiences in the comments:
How do you balance the pressure for quick results with the need for deep learning?