Escaping the Tactical Trap: Getting Out of the Weeds and Back into Leadership
You start the day with a plan: review the strategic priorities for Q3, prepare for the upcoming board retreat, and finally, carve out an hour to think big. But somewhere between approving a purchase order, editing comms copy, and rescheduling someone else’s meeting for the third time… the day is gone. The big stuff? Untouched. You were productive, but were you leading?
Welcome to the tactical trap. A cozy, deceptively satisfying space where capable leaders find themselves doing everyone else’s job. Not because they don’t trust their teams (okay, sometimes that’s part of it), but because they’ve mistaken being busy for being effective. It’s a common pitfall, especially for high-achievers who rose through the ranks by getting things done.
The problem? You can’t chart the course if you’re the one constantly patching the sails.
What Is the Tactical Trap?
The tactical trap is what happens when leaders stay too close to execution. It’s not inherently bad to help out or roll up your sleeves, but when it becomes your default, your leadership becomes reactive, not intentional.
The trap usually starts innocently. A teammate’s swamped, so you “just take care of it.” A deadline looms, so you jump in. It’s faster if you do it. You want it done right. Before long, your role shifts - not officially, but functionally. You become the team’s safety net. And eventually, you’re doing everyone’s work except your own.
This isn’t martyrdom. It’s a misalignment of focus. And it’s costing you, and your team, far more than you think.
Why Do Smart Leaders Get Stuck Here?
Because being in the weeds feels good. It’s clear. It’s measurable. It’s easy to say “look what I got done today” when you’re checking boxes left and right. Strategic thinking? Not so much. It’s ambiguous, long-term, and doesn’t always yield immediate results.
Adam Grant’s work often points to the trap of overvaluing visible productivity - what’s seen gets celebrated. Executing a task feels like an achievement. But delegating, coaching, and strategizing? Those don’t come with the same dopamine hit.
Many of us were rewarded early in our careers for being problem-solvers. So when we step into leadership roles, we default to the skillset that got us there. We do instead of guide. We fix instead of teach. And we get praised for it, until we’re overwhelmed, underutilized, or passed over for the next opportunity because we’re seen as operational, not visionary.
It’s not just an individual issue. Our organizations reinforce this. They promote the doers, but rarely support their transition into strategic leaders. They celebrate the person who “jumped in and saved the day” without asking why the fire started in the first place.
What Happens When You Stay in the Trap?
It’s not just that your own work suffers - your team does, too.
You become the bottleneck. If everything has to run through you, everything slows down.
Your team underdevelops. They never build muscle memory because you keep doing the heavy lifting.
You risk burnout. You’re playing a game of productivity Jenga, and the tower always collapses eventually.
You lose your line of sight. When you’re buried in the weeds, you stop seeing what’s coming.
In his book The Advantage, Patrick Lencioni reminds us that organizational health depends on clarity, alignment, and effective leadership. If you’re the one rerouting email threads while the big picture fades into the background, you’re not steering—you’re scrambling.
Industry-Agnostic, But Incredibly Familiar
This trap isn’t sector-specific; it’s leadership-agnostic. The same pattern emerges when you’re running a startup, a student affairs division, or a nonprofit serving your community.
A VP of Student Affairs is still editing the parent handbook instead of preparing for a regional accreditation visit.
A Director of Marketing is designing social graphics instead of mapping the next product launch.
An Executive Director is knee-deep in Salesforce records instead of cultivating the board or leading fundraising strategy.
It’s not heroic. It’s harmful. You can’t lead from inside the inbox.
The Psychology Behind It
This isn’t just anecdotal. Research backs it up. Gallup’s research on high-performing leaders shows that the best ones spend their time on alignment, communication, coaching, and vision, not task completion. When leaders shift into tactical gear too often, they stop focusing on culture, clarity, and the future, all the things that actually drive performance. Social psychologists like Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey have written extensively about how internal assumptions and fears hold us back from leading differently. Sometimes, staying tactical is tied to a deeper belief: I’m only valuable when I’m visibly producing.
Letting go of tasks can feel like letting go of control, competence, or credibility. But leadership isn’t about doing the most, it’s about enabling others to do their best.
How to Escape the Tactical Trap
So, how do you get out?
1. Audit Your Time.
Review your calendar and mark everything as tactical, operational, or strategic. If you’re spending more than half your time on tactical work, that’s your red flag.
2. Ask: What Needs Me?
What are you uniquely qualified to do? If someone else can do it 70–80% as well, delegate it. And if it comes back imperfect? Coach, don’t correct.
3. Create Decision-Making Guardrails.
Implement frameworks so people know when they can act, when to check in, and when to escalate. This empowers others and frees your time.
4. Coach First, Solve Later.
When your team brings you a problem, don’t default to fixing it. Ask:
“What do you think we should do?”
“What’s getting in your way?”
“What’s the next step you’d take?”
5. Rewire Your Definition of Leadership.
Being less “in it” doesn’t make you less committed. It makes you effective. Leaders who resist the tactical trap create space for strategy, alignment, and innovation.
One Last Thing: Step Off the Stage
If you’re still unsure whether you’re in the trap, ask yourself: if I took a day off, what would fall apart? If the answer is “everything,” you’re not leading, you’re propping things up. Simon Sinek talks about the infinite game of leadership; about playing for endurance, not applause. Great leaders don’t just solve the crisis of the day; they build systems, trust, and capacity so they don’t have to.
Let go of the idea that being busy equals being valuable. Your job isn’t to be needed—it’s to build a team that doesn’t need you to execute, but does need you to lead.
Need Help Shifting from Tactical to Transformational?
At transform.forward, we coach leaders, develop high-performing teams, and partner with organizations to build capacity, not dependency. If you’re ready to lead with clarity, alignment, and less chaos, we’re here for the journey.
Let’s get you out of the weeds! Check out our services or connect directly to start a conversation.
Interested in the sources?
Curious where these insights came from? We like to ground our engagements and blog posts in research, theory, and tested frameworks. If you’re the kind of leader who likes to dig deeper, here’s a look at the thinkers and resources that informed this piece.
Covey, S. R. (1989). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in personal change. Free Press.
Gallup. (2022, November 16). The increasing importance of having a best friend at work.
Grant, A. (2013). Give and take: Why helping others drives our success. Viking.
Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review, 78(2), 78–90.
Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2009). Immunity to change: How to overcome it and unlock potential in yourself and your organization. Harvard Business Press.
Lencioni, P. (2012). The advantage: Why organizational health trumps everything else in business. Jossey-Bass.
Sinek, S. (2019). The infinite game. Portfolio/Penguin.
Wiseman, L. (2010). Multipliers: How the best leaders make everyone smarter. HarperBusiness.
