Most IT leaders including myself are secretly terrified of an empty calendar.
When margin finally appears, I tend to use busywork to fill it. For me it’s a bit of a guilt thing. I’m so used to having a filled calendar and an in-demand schedule, that it becomes easier at times to default to busyness over margin.
Here is what I have come to find: Manufactured busyness is likely one of my coping mechanisms for not completely embracing the identity that I truly want.
Early in my IT career, I measured my worth by output, fire-fighting, and complex system implementations. My value was tied to the task. But when you transition from managing systems to leading people, that legacy playbook can break down completely.
When friction hits, it can manifest itself in three distinct phases:
Stagnation: Treating high-performing team members like task-executors rather than developing their strategic potential.
Discord: Reacting to calendar margin with manufactured urgent work, which does not create the desire I have for my team.
Dissonance: Knowing you should be coaching and mentoring, but potentially retreating to tactical work because it feels safer and easier to measure.
I urge you to join me in shifting our focus from managing projects to developing people. Investing in people over tasks doesn't just improve team metrics—it multiplies the overall organizational impact and personal joy.
True alignment happens when you stop managing from positional authority and start leading from an identity grounded in trust, empowerment, and mentorship. Margin isn't an invitation to create busywork; it is the exact strategic space required to build future leaders.
Leadership isn't defined by how exhausted your calendar leaves you. It’s defined by the legacy and capability you build in others.
I’m curious:
1). How are you handling unprogrammed margin in your calendar—do you use it strategically, or do you instinctively fill it with tasks?
For me, I’m learning to let go of any guilt or automatic thinking and start to strategically plan out my schedule on Saturday or Sunday before the week starts. I’m purposefully putting in slots for employee leadership and growth training.
2). What is the biggest operational habit holding you back from shifting from a project manager mindset to a people developer?
Others place meetings on my schedule, even without asking or checking for my availability. I’m learning to say “no”. However there are a handful of specific tasks that I have not trained others in, thus leaving them to me to complete.
What are your thoughts? Let’s mastermind around this topic?
Let me know if you are interested by saying “Yes” in the comments section and we can put together a way to get together.
#ITLeadership #PeopleOverTasks #LeadershipDevelopment #ITOperations #ExecutiveCoaching