“True productivity is not about perfecting a system;
it is about returning, again and again, to what matters most."
Monique Fanselow MCC
Beyond the Rush: where intentional leadership meets profound productivity
There is something profoundly beautiful about watching a master craftsperson at work. Their hands move with purpose, each gesture deliberate, nothing wasted. They understand something most of us are still learning: true productivity is not about the flurry of activity, but about the precision of intention.
I have been thinking about this lately, especially as I witness the leaders I coach wrestling with what feels like an endless cycle of busyness. They arrive at our sessions exhausted, their calendars bursting, their to-do lists growing longer despite their tireless efforts. They mistake motion for progress, activity for achievement.
The Sacred Mathematics of Impact
The Pareto principle whispers an ancient truth: eighty percent of our outcomes flow from just twenty percent of our efforts. This is not merely a business concept, it is a profound invitation to examine where we place our life force, our precious energy.
Think of Sarah, a talented marketing director who came to me drowning in what she called "the email tsunami." She was responding to over a hundred messages daily, believing this made her indispensable. Through our coaching conversations, we discovered that only twelve of those daily emails actually moved her strategic goals forward. The rest? Beautiful, well-crafted distractions from her real work. When Sarah shifted her energy toward those twelve meaningful exchanges, something magical happened. Her team began bringing her higher-quality questions. Her stakeholders started seeing her as a strategic partner rather than a responsive service provider. Her productivity did not just improved, it transformed.
The Gentle Art of Discernment
Leadership productivity is not about squeezing more juice from the same orange. It is about choosing the right orchard entirely.
Consider Marcus, a senior operations leader who prided himself on being available for every meeting, every crisis, every decision. His calendar looked like a piece of abstract art, colorful blocks with no white space to breathe. He was driving his career in first gear, engine roaring, burning fuel, going nowhere fast. In our work together, we explored what would happen if he trusted his team more deeply. What if he showed up fully for fewer things rather than partially for everything? Marcus began saying no to meetings where his presence was not essential. He started asking, "What would happen if I did not attend this?" The answer was often, "Nothing would change." As he shifted gears, his leadership began to hum with quiet efficiency. His team stepped up. His strategic thinking deepened. He rediscovered the joy of work that actually mattered.
The Rhythm of Right Priorities
There is a rhythm to sustainable productivity, like the steady heartbeat of someone at peace. It begins each morning with a simple question: "What three things, if accomplished today, would make me feel genuinely productive?" Not busy. Productive.
Elena, a finance executive, used to start her days by opening her email, letting the urgency of others dictate her priorities. Through our coaching relationship, she learned to begin differently. Five minutes of morning reflection, pen to paper, asking herself: "What will move my most important goals forward today?" This small ritual became her compass. Instead of being reactive, she became responsive. Instead of feeling pulled in every direction, she began walking purposefully toward what mattered most.
The Weekly Wisdom Pause
Each week, Elena also takes fifteen minutes to step back from the daily details and ask: "What are the three priorities that will make this week meaningful?" This weekly practice becomes a bridge between daily tasks and monthly goals, ensuring that her efforts align with her deeper intentions.
The Monthly Mountain View
Once a month, she climbs higher still, taking a broader view: "What are the key priorities that will define this month?" This practice helps her see patterns, anticipate challenges, and make course corrections before small problems become big ones.
Questions for Your Own Journey
As you reflect on your own relationship with productivity, consider these gentle inquiries:
- What would change if you trusted that doing less, but doing it with full presence, might actually serve you better?
- Where in your work life are you driving in first gear when you could shift to sixth?
- What three activities, if you focused on them completely, would transform your professional impact?
The Invitation to Begin
True productivity is not about perfecting a system, it is about returning, again and again, to what matters most. It is about having the courage to disappoint some people in service of deeply serving others. It is about choosing depth over breadth, intention over reaction, presence over productivity theater.
The leaders who inspire me most are not the busiest ones. They are the ones who move through their days with quiet purpose, who create space for what matters, who understand that their greatest contribution comes not from doing everything, but from doing the right things extraordinarily well.
This is your invitation to begin your own quiet revolution. To discover what becomes possible when you stop trying to do it all and start choosing to do what truly matters.
What will you choose to focus on today?
How do you define productivity?
Productivity is a measure of economic performance that compares the amount of goods and services produced (output) with the amount of inputs used to produce those goods and services.
What is productivity in one word?
Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure.
What are the 5 main factors that affect productivity?
• Communication
• Time management
• Technology
• Leadership
• Calendar transparency
How do you describe workplace productivity?
Workplace productivity reflects the goods and services versus the labor and costs. For companies, productivity can be best described as the amount of work that can be executed over a specific period. Work productivity indicates how well employees work to support key business goals and overall performance.
Moving forward together.
If this exploration of intentional productivity resonates with your own leadership journey, I would be deeply honored to walk alongside you as your thinking partner.
As a Master Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation, I find that questions around meaningful productivity surface again and again in my conversations with leaders. There is something powerful that happens when we create space to examine not just what we are doing, but why we are doing it, and whether it truly serves our highest impact. The path toward authentic productivity is rarely traveled alone. Sometimes we need a trusted companion to help us see what we cannot see ourselves, to ask the questions that matter most, and to hold space for the insights that emerge when we pause long enough to listen.
Note: all names and identifying details in this blog have been changed to protect client confidentiality in accordance with the ICF Code of Ethics.
book a call