Hi Reader,
When I was in the trenches of running our family insurance agency, there was a moment when I sat in my car outside the office and couldn’t bring myself to go inside. Not because of any single crisis, but because I knew another day of putting out fires was waiting for me.
Sound familiar?
The Reactive Leadership Trap
When I took over the agency, my focus was pure survival: streamline processes, build a team, get things running efficiently. I told myself I’d work on the bigger picture “later” once we got through the immediate challenges.
But later never came.
There was always something urgent demanding attention—a client issue, an employee problem, a process that needed fixing. I convinced myself that once I resolved whatever crisis was in front of me, then I could focus on strategy and growth.
The deadline kept moving: “Once we hire these employees…” “Once we fix this client issue…” “Once we learn this software properly…”
Meanwhile, I was losing myself in the process.
The Hidden Cost
The most obvious cost was mental exhaustion. But the deeper damage was what really hurt:
I grew resentful of my team. Here I was, working nights and weekends solving problems while they seemed oblivious to how much I was carrying.
I lost touch with my strengths. I’m skilled at analyzing challenges and implementing solutions, but I’d stayed stuck on the same recurring problems for so long that I forgot I could tackle anything else.
I had no “why” anymore. Without a clear vision, every day felt like running on a hamster wheel—lots of movement, no progress.
What Changed Everything
The turning point came when I finally talked to a coach. Not because they had magical solutions, but because they helped me see that my expectations around what HAD to get done before I could move forward were keeping me trapped.
I had it backwards. The strategic work (setting priorities, building systems, developing my team) was exactly what would prevent these fires from starting in the first place.
Through coaching, I finally articulated what I actually wanted: to serve as a resource for my team and spend my time developing tools, systems, and ideas that would move us forward.
You Can’t See It From Inside
Reactive leadership is incredibly isolating. You’re so busy managing immediate problems that you can’t step back to see the pattern you’re stuck in. You start believing this is just what leadership looks like.
You need someone outside the daily chaos to hold up a mirror and show you what’s really happening.
If you’re constantly putting out fires while the work you actually want to do gets pushed aside, you’re not alone. This cycle can be broken.
The sooner you interrupt this pattern, the greater chance you have of creating the leadership role you actually want. Learn more by checking out the full blog article here.
Ready to break free from reactive leadership?
Book a complimentary discovery call to explore how 1:1 coaching can help you regain agency over your business and turn your expertise into the strategic, growth-focused work you're meant to be doing.
As always, please feel free to reply directly to this email with any questions, suggestions, or topics that you'd like to see covered in subsequent issues.
See you next month!
Cheers,
Anais
P.S. If you enjoyed reading this, please send it to someone who might find it helpful as well. If you were forwarded this email, please consider subscribing to receive future issues and follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram for more business and leadership content.
"What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
