17. You’re Not Leading a System—You’re Leading People

The symptoms are easy to spot.

Systems that feel stretched thin.

Leaders still deep in the work instead of leading it.

Technology you’ve outgrown or stopped using the way it was designed.

Projects that move, but never seem to finish.

Meetings that chew up the clock but don’t move the needle.

And under all of it… a team that’s doing good work, but not great work.

Checking boxes.

Solving the same problems over and over.

Thinking only about today.

Hi, I’m James and you’re listening to the Leadership in 5 podcast.

This is the first of five episodes in the It’s All Personal series — because excellence might look operational, but it’s always about people.

If you’ve felt this, you’re not alone.

These aren’t just operational headaches.

They’re signs that your people aren’t getting the chance to bring their best work to the table.

Most employees aren’t disengaged because they don’t care.

They’re disengaged because the work environment keeps them from really diving in.

They’re pulled into unproductive or pointless meetings.

They don’t have the green light to run with ideas.

They struggle to focus and prioritize because the goalposts keep shifting.

And there’s no one consistently pulling them toward the bigger goal.

So they do what’s asked.

They do it well enough.

But they stop bringing their full talent, creativity, and problem-solving to the work.

You can have the best systems in the world and still miss your real capacity — because systems don’t create excellence on their own.

People do.

When the talent and intellect of your team aren’t fully engaged, your systems can’t save you.

Your goals will always feel just out of reach.

And the company will run on “good enough” — even if nobody says it out loud.

The real leverage point isn’t just fixing the system.

It’s creating an environment where people can do their best work and feel proud of it.

So yes, fix the systems. Upgrade the tools. Streamline the processes.

But don’t stop there.

Remove the barriers that keep people from thinking deeply and working creatively.

Kill the meeting that wastes an hour without producing decisions.

Give clear authority to move ideas forward.

Make the end goal visible and meaningful.

And be the leader who pulls them toward it.

Because the point isn’t just to get work done.

The point is to unlock the best work your people can do.

Here are two ways to start this week:

Review your meeting structure.

Where do meetings need to happen that currently aren’t?

Which meetings are wasting time or missing the right focus?

Decide where the goal is connection, alignment, or decision-making — and structure accordingly.

Identify where people already feel empowered.

Look for the teams or individuals who consistently move work forward without constant oversight.

Ask why that’s happening.

Is it the leader? The clarity of the work? The trust they’ve built?

Once you know, look for ways to replicate it in other parts of the business.

What’s one barrier keeping your team from doing their best work?

Where is “good enough” quietly becoming your standard?

How often are you pulling your team toward a bigger goal — not just assigning tasks?

You’re not leading a system.

You’re leading people.

And that’s worth thinking about today.