6 signs you've outgrown your own leadership strategy

Fast Company

5 days ago

You know that moment: you finally sit down, maybe between back-to-back meetings or after another late-night email sprint, and you look around.
The team is busy. The Slack channels are buzzing. The roadmap is full. And yet, something feels off.
Maybe you feel underwhelmed by progress, or overwhelmed by the effort it takes to keep things running. Or maybe everything looks fine on paper, but deep down, you know it's not working like it used to.
That feeling doesn't mean you've failed—it means you're paying attention. Sometimes, your approach needs an update. (As Taylor Swift would say: 'It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me!')
Sound familiar? Here are six signs it might be time to pause, reassess, and adjust your leadership strategy.
1. YOU'RE THE BOTTLENECK
You built the business by being involved in everything. That worked…until it didn't.
Now, every decision flows through you. People wait for your input—not because they can't move without it, but because they've learned you'll eventually weigh in, often with feedback that undoes what's already been done.
So, what happens? Progress slows, ownership erodes, and the business starts to feel like a group project where everyone's waiting for the teacher to grade the paper.
What To Do:
Start by asking yourself: 'What would break if I stepped away for two weeks?' Whatever comes to mind, fix that.
Define the decisions that truly require your involvement and delegate the rest. When you hand something off, communicate trust clearly, and honor it. Don't claim someone owns a decision and then override it at the finish line.
2. YOUR TEAM FEELS DISENGAGED OR DISCONNECTED
They're showing up and getting the work done, but the energy feels muted.
You notice it in the silences during meetings and the lack of momentum in brainstorms. Most days, no one seems particularly excited about where things are going.
This kind of drift happens when people lose sight of why their work matters or how it connects to something larger.
What To Do:
Don't try to 'motivate' your team. Instead, reconnect the dots between what they're doing and why it matters.
Then, take a look inward. Are you recognizing wins? Have roles gotten muddy? Are you actually present or just really visible?
You don't need a team retreat to rebuild connection, but you do need to help people feel like they're part of something meaningful.
3. PROGRESS HAS SLOWED (EVEN IF EVERYONE'S BUSY)
You're shipping things and hitting deadlines. Everyone's calendars are full. But when you zoom out, it's hard to see what's actually changed.
This is the illusion of momentum: lots of motion, very little movement. The team is working, but they're sprinting in circles.
This usually happens when activity gets mistaken for impact. Busyness feels productive and safe, but without aligned priorities and focused goals, work becomes noise.
What To Do:
Stop measuring effort and start measuring outcomes. Revisit your strategic goals and ask, 'Which of these are we truly advancing right now?'
Be honest about what's adding value versus what's just filling time. Pause, cut, or rethink anything that isn't contributing directly to progress.
4. COMMUNICATION FEELS MESSY
Everything feels important and urgent. And yet…no one seems to know what's actually going on.
Your team is in constant communication, but clarity is missing. Priorities shift mid-week. Projects stall. People wait for direction that never comes or duplicate work that was already done.
This kind of chaos signals that your strategy and communication haven't kept pace with the complexity of your business.
What To Do:
Simplify the signal. Identify the one thing that matters this week or this month, and make sure everyone knows it.
Streamline how updates are shared and how decisions get made. Not every conversation needs to be a meeting, and not every meeting that makes it on the calendar actually needs to happen.
5. YOU'RE CONSTANTLY PIVOTING
Every week brings a new idea, plan, or top priority.
Eventually, the team stops responding with energy and starts responding with hesitation. They wait a beat before building, because they know the direction might change again tomorrow.
Over time, that doubt compounds. Trust erodes. Projects stall. And people start asking themselves what the point is, because the target never seems to stay in one place.
What To Do:
Leave room for iteration, but stop changing direction every time you feel uncertain or inspired. If your strategy isn't sticking, the problem might not be the plan. It might be your patience.
Give your team permission to go deep on fewer things, not shallow across many. Clarity paired with consistency is powerful!
6. YOU DREAD THE WORK YOU USED TO LOVE
You're still showing up and checking the boxes, but the spark you once had—the clarity, the drive, the sense of building something that mattered—has dulled.
Now the work feels heavier. The parts you used to love feel like chores. You start fantasizing about walking away for no real reason except that something inside you is shifting.
You're feeling the tension between who you were when you started and who you've become.
What To Do:
Take a step back and ask, 'What version of leadership am I still performing? Is it based on who I was, or who I need to be next?'
Sometimes the strategy needs to change. When the way forward stops feeling like yours, it's time to redefine what leadership looks like in this season.
FINAL THOUGHTS