A short orientation for leaders working in complexity
Why this exists
When things feel heavy, tangled, or urgent, sometimes the hardest part is working out what kind of moment you’re actually in.
This check helps you notice how pressure, change, and complexity may be shaping:
- how decisions are being approached
- how work is moving
- how roles and responsibility are being carried
It’s not a diagnostic.
It’s not an assessment.
It doesn’t judge capability.
It helps you orient.
A note on identity
⏱ If you’re short on time
You don’t need to complete everything.
- Scan the section headings below
- Start where you feel the most friction
- Stop once a few statements ring true
- Then jump to What kind of moment does this point to?
Five minutes is enough.
🌬 Before you start (10 seconds)
Pause briefly.
Notice:
- your body
- your sleep
- your patience
- where tension is sitting
Pressure often shows up there first.
Then continue.
🧭 How judgement is being shaped
These signals tend to appear when pace, consequence, or uncertainty start influencing how decisions are made.
🔁 How behaviour is shifting under load
These patterns often show up when pressure interferes with follow-through, not intent.
🪢 How roles and authority are moving
Change often stretches roles faster than expectations get reset.
🌊 How much space there is to think
These signals appear when delivery crowds out sense-making.
✍️ What’s standing out
You don’t need to make sense of everything.
Just notice:
- which section had the most ticks
- what feels most present right now
- what feels hardest to hold or name
One or two sentences is enough.
Reflections |
🗺 What kind of moment does this point to?
Different patterns call for different kinds of support.
This isn’t about choosing a product. It’s about recognising the conditions you’re operating inside.
🔥 Pressure is live
You might recognise this moment if decisions feel loaded, exposed, or difficult to reverse.
There’s a sense that something important is at stake. Time feels compressed. You might be circling a decision, revisiting it, or feeling the weight of consequences before you’ve even acted.
Often, there’s pressure to “just decide” alongside a quiet fear of misreading the situation.
What usually helps here isn’t more analysis. It’s slowing the moment just enough to widen the view, test assumptions, and make a move you can stand behind.
This is often a Pressure Clarity moment.
If nothing else, do this next:
Ask, “What would make this decision easier to adjust later?”
🧱 Systemic strain is showing
You might recognise this moment if the same issues keep resurfacing, work is sitting between people, or roles feel blurred.
Effort is high, but progress feels uneven. Problems don’t disappear. They just re-emerge in different forms. Leaders may be compensating for gaps in structure or clarity, carrying more than they should, or relying on goodwill and heroics to keep things moving.
What usually helps here is stepping back to look at how the system is actually operating, not pushing individuals harder.
This is often a Clarity Sprint moment or time to do a self directed capability sprint in the companion.
If nothing else, do this next:
Name where work is sitting between roles or teams and raise it as a matter to work through at your team meeting.
🌿 The system needs containment
You might recognise this moment if everything feels busy, but there’s little space to think.
Conversations stay in delivery mode. Bigger questions surface briefly, then get parked. There may be a sense of constant motion without orientation. Curiosity drops. Reactivity rises.
What usually helps here is not deciding or fixing, but restoring enough space to think clearly again.
This is often a Between Pressure Waves moment.
If nothing else, do this next:
Choose one thing you will deliberately not push forward this week.
🔄 More than one thing is true
You might recognise this moment if several of the above patterns are present at once.
Decision pressure may be live, while systemic strain is also showing. No single intervention feels sufficient. The real challenge is sequencing what to do first, without making things worse.
In moments like this, forcing a solution too early often backfires.
This is often a moment to talk it through before choosing a path.
If nothing else, do this next:
Share what you wrote under What’s standing out with one trusted person and ask,
“What am I not seeing?”
👥 Using this with a team
This works well with leadership teams.
Have each person:
- complete the check privately
- share only which section stood out most
- offer one sentence on what feels most present
Notice where patterns converge or diverge.
➡️ What to do next
You can:
- sit with this and take no action yet
- bring one pattern into a leadership conversation
- use this as a starting point for a clarity conversation
There’s no obligation to move quickly.
This is about restoring range, not forcing momentum.
🧰 Using this in practice - Free templates
The planning tools in this workspace have editable versions you can copy into your own work.
Tell me what you are working on and I will send through the ones most relevant to your situation. I respond personally within a few hours on business days.