I have seen so many leaders spend their days playing whack-a-mole with exceptions—unforeseen events that disrupt their workflow and force them into a reactive stance. These leaders are always moving, but they don’t make enough progress.

I make a clear distinction between exceptions and exceptional situations—events that couldn’t have been anticipated. If your days are dominated by exceptional situations, that’s probably acceptable (though it’s worth asking yourself why your world is so volatile). If your days are filled by reacting to exceptions, however, you’re doing yourself, your team, and your clients a disservice by not redesigning the system to handle these events smoothly and predictably.

No process, no workflow, no system of work is perfect. There is always room for improvement. The best leaders I’ve worked for (and the leader I aspire to be) recognize this and prioritize refining the system of work over simply operating within it.

Cover photo by Steven Miller