Most leaders don’t need another to-do list.
They need a “stop-doing” list.
Marshall Goldsmith said it best in What Got You Here Won’t Get You There:
Your biggest improvements won’t come from adding new habits… they’ll come from stopping the ones that are holding you back.
And that’s true now more than ever.
Most leaders are overwhelmed not because they aren’t talented, but because they’re trying to be everything to everyone. They’re multitasking, overcommitting, sitting in meetings with no purpose, and reacting to whatever pops up next.
They don’t lack effort or drive - they are working long hours trying to get it all done.
Instead, it seems little to nothing has been accomplished at the end of long days. They take work home with them. It’s hard to unwind and stop thinking about everything that’s not done.
Consequences pile up fast.
When leaders don’t stop the behaviors that drain their time and attention, two things happen:
They get mixed signals, rework, unclear priorities, last-minute fire drills, and a leader who’s physically present but mentally elsewhere.
Leadership trust starts to diminish.
No time to think. No space to coach. No focused time for planning.
Your life becomes inbox triage, meeting overload, and the sinking feeling that you’re always behind. Maybe you’re even wondering if you’re cut out to be a leader.
This is how high achievers burn out - and how good teams quietly disengage.
Here’s the truth: These patterns are predictable. And they’re fixable.
In Practical Leadership, I break down the tactical skills every leader needs that can be put into practice today, not someday.
Small changes done consistently over time are transformative.
Leadership isn’t an art form. It’s a craft you learn and master, one clear behavior at a time.
And it starts with what you stop doing.
Here is your leadership stop-doing list - the exact behaviors that derail well-intentioned leaders and drain teams:
Overcommitment isn’t a leadership strategy. When you say yes to everything, you drag your team into reactive chaos, frustration, and burnout.
Presence is the foundation of effective leadership. If your attention is scattered, your leadership is too.
“Clear is kind, unclear is unkind,” as Bréne Brown says. You lose so much credibility as a leader when you don’t deal with difficult conversations. Everyone knows it exists and is quietly observing how you handle it.
Silence often signals hesitation or uncertainty - almost never alignment or agreement. Healthy teams challenge, question, and clarify.
When you always start the conversation, you’re telling others their ideas don’t matter. And you’re training them that they don’t need to think. Let others go first. More often than not, people closer to the work have better ideas and solutions than yours. I’ve learned this the hard way on more than one occasion.
The best leaders know that it was a team effort to get results and the team should be recognized. These same leaders take the blame when things go wrong instead of throwing their team under the bus.
If emotions are involved, talk it out - talk, don’t type. Email is a terrible conflict-resolution tool on so many levels.
A meeting without direction is just calendar clutter. Clarity saves time, energy, and patience.
Status belongs in dashboards and in status meetings. One-on-ones are where you connect with your team members, learn about their goals and aspirations, and help them develop their potential.
Delegation shouldn’t be about dumping tasks on someone. Use delegation to help people grow. Give team members stretch work, not just the work you don’t want to do.
If these stop-doing behaviors hit a nerve, that’s a good sign.
It means you’re self-aware and paying attention to the right things - the ones that actually move the needle.
If you want the full tactical playbook for building these habits (and dropping the ones holding you back), grab your copy of Practical Leadership.
And if you lead a team or organization, consider buying copies for your leaders.
Because everyone deserves to work for a great leader.
Warm regards,
Janet Ply, PhD
Author, Practical Leadership
www.janetply.com
Schedule a free problem-solving call with me at janetply.me. Connect with me on LinkedIn.