“May the 4th be with you – if you’re unlearning the myth that motion equals value.”
Many of us were taught to equate doing with worth. Be fast. Be first. Fix it yourself. The reward system was built around action.
But there’s a quiet leadership truth most books gloss over:
The higher you go, the less your hands matter. And the more your head and your restraint do.
When Doing Becomes a Crutch
In a recent board accountability session, someone said:
“I’d be a terrible board member, I wouldn’t be able to just sit back and watch them fail.”
I get it.
If you’ve built your career on solving chaos, putting out fires, and forecasting what’s next, then stillness feels unnatural. Worse – like failure.
But that’s exactly the work.
The real job is to sit still and think.
To ask, not answer.
To influence, not intervene.
Letting Go of Execution to Step Into Oversight
In my Fortune 500 and PE-backed operator days, leading from the front was the norm. Dive into the weeds. Drive it yourself. That’s how we proved value.
But later, I watched VPs and presidents struggle when they had to step back when doing less was actually the requirement of the role.
Even in my solopreneurship journey, I’ve learned this:
The biggest breakthroughs I help clients achieve don’t come from what I build.
They come from the questions I ask.
Ask the Questions That Shift the Room
If you’re stepping into the C-suite, a board seat, or fractional leadership, you’ll need to unlearn the addiction to action. Start asking better questions instead:
- What are we not seeing here?
- What would have to be true for this to succeed?
- Is this solving the real problem?
- Who owns the outcome?
- What are we avoiding?
Because transformation doesn’t always look like motion.
Sometimes, the most powerful shift you can make is this:
Stop doing.
Start asking.