I hear four primary concerns from leaders. Even when they know what they want, they get tripped up by one of these four things.
Today we’re focusing on the second most common one — time.
I’m going to show you how to get hours back every single month and how to use that time in ways that actually move you forward. Want to go deeper? Click here and watch the YouTube video.
The Truth About “I Don’t Have Time”
Time is the most common excuse I hear from leaders who aren’t doing something they say they want to do — whether that’s delegating more, working strategically, or preparing for a promotion. In fact, I did a recent poll – one you can be part of right here – where 2/3 of respondents said they never have time to think strategically. Never.
And I say excuse not because you’re not busy. Every manager, director, and executive I know leads a full life — meetings, deadlines, family, everything. But these same smart, capable people rarely make real changes that impact how they use their time.
The conversation usually goes like this:
I’ll ask, “What’s keeping you from stepping into that director role you want?”
And Molly Manager says, “I just don’t have time to work on the projects that will get me noticed.”
So I say, “Okay, fair. Where could we carve out time to dedicate to that work?” That’s when Molly laughs — or stares at me blankly.
Come on now, Molly. You were just so insightful about what’s holding you back, and now there’s nothing we can do about it?
There’s always something we can do. And today, I’m going to show you how to lead efficient meetings so you can compound your time — just like the interest in your 401(k) — and start earning back hours of your week.
The Real Way to Get Your Time Back
So, how do you get your time back?
The short answer: talk less.
I know that sounds overly simple, but it’s true. When you lead efficient meetings, you stop being the bottleneck for every idea, decision, and update. You create space for your team to think, speak, and act — and that’s where the real magic happens.
Let’s run the numbers.
If you have five direct reports, you probably meet with each of them once a month for an hour. Then you’ve got your weekly team meeting — another hour each week.
By cutting your 1:1s down to 20 minutes and your team meetings down to 15 minutes, you save over six and a half hours every month.
That’s because your one-on-ones go from five hours a month to about an hour and twenty minutes, and your team meetings drop from four hours a month to just one.
That’s a better than 50% savings just from meeting adjustments alone.
And it doesn’t stop there — because these aren’t just shorter meetings. You are shifting the responsibility which results in shorter meetings yes, but also, shorter prep, faster follow-up, and fewer misunderstandings that waste even more time.
The Hidden Problem: Who’s Really Responsible?
Here’s where most managers trip up. When I ask, “Who’s responsible for your team meetings?” I usually get some version of: “Well, everyone’s responsible for themselves.”
That sounds nice in theory — but in reality, the person who’s driving the meeting is the one who’s responsible. The person talking the most, building the agenda, starting the conversation. And for most teams? That’s you.
When you structure meetings so your direct reports own the agenda, share updates, and come prepared with solutions, you shift responsibility back to where it belongs.
And once you do that, something amazing happens. Your prep time shrinks, your meetings run tighter, and your team starts stepping up — because you’ve created space for them to. To see this shift though, you need to do three things in your meetings. Click here to get the full story in YouTube.
If your calendar is currently filled with back-to-back 1:1s and team meetings that eat up 18 hours a month, imagine what it would feel like to bring that down to four or five hours.
That’s almost two full workdays back — simply by talking less and redirecting your team to the main thing. (If you want to understand how, click here to get the video!)
It Gets You More than Time
When you start leading efficient meetings, you’re not just freeing up your schedule — you’re earning back credibility, confidence, and control.
You’ll finally have time to focus on the strategic projects that get you noticed. You’ll build a team that thinks independently and solves problems without waiting for you to step in.
And that’s exactly the kind of leader executives promote.
This is how you move from managing the work to leading the business.
The Next Step: Your Turn
If you’ve ever felt like your meetings are running you — instead of the other way around — I want to hear from you.
Fill out this short form and tell me more about your experience communicating, delegating, and building the habits that move you closer to promotion. Or, click here and I’d love to talk through it with you.
You don’t have to overhaul your calendar or overhaul your team. You just need to take one small, intentional step to start compounding your time.
And this — learning how strategic communication can get you there — is the perfect place to start.