ne of my first long bike races was on a course with rolling hills. As a novice rider, I hadn’t quite mastered the gears. Going down a hill, I wouldn’t get into a hard gear, and my legs would spin fast but generate little power. Going uphill, I’d wait too long to shift into an easier gear, and I’d lose all my momentum.
The smarter and more experienced riders would easily pass me during these transitions. It wasn’t that they were working harder; they were shifting smarter.
The same is true in leadership. Managers who hold onto habits too long or react to changes too late will miss the moment. Managers need to understand and navigate the inevitable transitions and make the shifts necessary, so they are the ones doing the passing rather than being passed.
The first shift managers must make is a mindset shift.
But the day is already lost. More emails arrive, a Teams chat starts, and someone pops in for advice. They think, “Tomorrow will be different.”
But it isn’t.
For example, a manager can spend the first fifteen minutes of each day alone, preparing for the day. No email, no phone, no distractions.
During that time, they answer these three questions:
- What are your three most important initiatives or goals for this month?
- What is one thing you can accomplish today to make progress on one of those?
- What do you need to accomplish that one thing?
Building this habit provides clarity and helps the manager stay focused on their priorities.
Of course, the day of a manager never goes as planned. There is a steady stream of tasks to process throughout the day, which is why the next shift is a nice complement.
Being proactive is a good way to start the day, but managers need a way to process requests in real time so they stay focused on the important work that only they can do, like mentoring an employee, rethinking a process, or strengthening a relationship. No one notices when these types of tasks get ignored, until they fail. Then everyone sees the result, and it isn’t pretty.
This shift isn’t about solving problems; it’s about preventing them.
To make this shift, managers need a model that helps them process tasks as they come into their purview. A classic and usable triage model is the Eisenhower Matrix.
To use this framework, managers evaluate each task on its importance and urgency.
- Urgent + Important = Do it now
- Not Urgent + Important = Schedule it
- Urgent + Not Important = Delegate it
- Not Urgent + Not Important = Eliminate it
As managers take more control of their schedule, they can begin blocking daily or weekly working time for their “Important, not Urgent” tasks.
Even important work can become busywork if it’s not connected to outcomes, which is why the next shift is so critical.
Managers must measure their value by the outcomes they create for their teams, clients, and the organization, not by how busy they are.
Here are three steps managers can take to clarify priorities and align their team.
- Articulate and communicate how success is measured. Identify the one, two, or three results that are critical for this quarter. Make them visible to the team so everyone knows them and how progress is measured.
- Connect daily work to outcomes. Identify how the team’s work drives those results, and engage employees in discussions about how they can best contribute to the outcomes.
- Review progress consistently. Have regular check-ins with the team to hear updates, offer support, and make adjustments. Track progress and keep the team informed.
This shift will elevate a manager’s impact and help the team engage more. To grow as a leader, they must also learn how to multiply their efforts through others.
They intend to protect their team, but this strategy can lead to inefficiencies. Employees can become hesitant to act on even small matters without approval. The manager gets overwhelmed, bottlenecks form, employees stagnate, and the team hits a ceiling.
That all can change when the manager shifts their strategy from containment to multiplication. Instead of being the source of solutions, the manager becomes the fuel that allows others to innovate and lead.
Here are three strategies for multiplication.
- Make it safe to fail. It seems counterintuitive. Failure is a setback, right? However, managers can create a culture where misses are not mistakes; they are learning opportunities. To build this culture, managers must model humility and adaptability. Others will follow suit if the manager is open to feedback, shares their mistakes, and shows what they learned.
- Connect the work to the mission. While showing employees how their work supports department or company goals is important, it isn’t enough for multiplication. Managers must take the extra step of showing how those individual contributions help the team and how the team supports the organization’s mission. According to McKinsey, employees who find purpose in their work are more productive, healthier, more resilient, and more likely to stay with their company. Managers can create multiplication by helping employees feel more ownership, energy, and meaning in what they do.
- Cultivate trust. When managers show consistent belief in their employees, even when outcomes vary, they signal that risk, growth, and ownership are safe. They build trust, which accelerates development and deepens commitment. Cultivating trust with the team is more than handing off tasks, it’s standing behind people as they take the lead. When managers create a high-trust environment, their teams see faster growth, stronger performance, and higher engagement.
A contributor asks, “What do I need to get done today?” A leader asks, “What do my people need to grow, succeed, and stay aligned to what matters most?” Contributors work the system; leaders create systems that empower others to be more successful and fulfilled. Management isn’t about stepping away from meaningful work. It’s about stepping into a more meaningful impact.
When managers show up proactively, focus on what matters, pursue impact over activity, and multiply it through others, they enable all of us to reach higher. People feel inspired, organizations set their sights further, and progress becomes sustainable.
That’s the kind of leadership Alaska needs. As Alaskan-owned businesses grow and evolve, they will depend on managers who can create clarity, develop their people, and shape what comes next. These are the leaders who will carry our communities, industries, and innovations into the future.
Like any long ride, it starts with one push of the pedal. One action, then another. Shifting as needed and adjusting to the conditions.
That’s how great managers build momentum. That’s how they lead.
