Some of the hardest-working leaders I know are also the most frustrated.
They’re experienced. Smart. Driven. Their team respects them. The company is growing — or at least it should be. But they’re stuck. It’s not because they’re doing the wrong things, but because they’re solving the wrong problems. And they’re mistaking motion for momentum.
They’re trying to outwork a thinking problem.
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Stuck doesn’t mean failing. It means leading in the dark
When leaders say they feel stuck, they don’t mean paralyzed. They mean that they’re doing a lot without seeing forward movement. Decisions get made, but priorities keep shifting. People stay busy, but progress feels unpredictable.
This is where leadership gets dangerous because many of the real obstacles are disguised.
Disguised obstacles are challenges that seem to be about strategy, people, or execution but are actually rooted in how the leader is thinking about the situation.
It’s not that the leader is wrong. It’s that they’re solving what’s visible, not what’s fundamental.
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Motion versus momentum
Most leaders are in constant motion. They’re in meetings, solving problems, reacting to pressure. But motion is merely activity. Momentum is movement with direction.
Momentum means the team knows where it’s going and why. It means decisions build on each other instead of pulling in different directions.
Without momentum, leaders exhaust themselves trying to create progress through force. That’s when they try to outwork something they haven’t yet named.
That brings us to the real trap: the thinking problem.
What’s a thinking problem?
A thinking problem is when leaders apply energy and urgency to a situation without first arriving at clarity and formulating structure. And disciplined thinking, the kind that gives you clarity, isn’t easy.
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People assume thinking is just reflection. But thinking is work. Hard work. It’s like digging ditches. That first shovel isn’t difficult. But five or six feet in, after dozens of shovels, that’s where the real work begins. That’s where insight lives. Most leaders stop after the first mental shovel. Some don’t even take that first dig.
A thinking problem shows up when a leader:
- Jumps to solve a symptom before understanding the root cause. Instead, slow down long enough to ask, “What’s actually driving this issue?”
- Operates on assumptions they haven’t tested or shared. Instead, make assumptions visible, pressure-test them, and align the team around shared reality.
- Confuses activity with effectiveness. Instead, focus the team on outcomes, not output. On progress, not just busyness.
- Repeats old strategies in new circumstances. Instead, apply what’s worked elsewhere (the science) but adapt it to fit the current situation (the art).
Why smart leaders get caught here
Getting caught in a thinking problem isn’t due to inexperience. In fact, the more successful a leader has been, the more likely they are to fall into this trap.
Why? Because their early instincts worked. Solving fast, doing more, and deciding solo got them through the startup phase. But what works in urgency fails in complexity.
It’s not a skills issue. It’s a leadership evolution they’ve never been taught to make.
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When the problem isn’t the problem
Let me give you an example: A founder feels like the team is underperforming. Projects miss deadlines. Accountability is low. They assume it’s a people issue. So they rearrange reporting lines. They offer bonuses. They bring in a coach.
Still stuck.
In a vacuum, all of those could be good ideas. But are they the right ideas? Or are they change for the sake of change?
When we dig deeper, we discover something else: roles were never clearly defined around outcomes. No one knew who owned what decisions and there was no shared language for success. Projects slowed. Accountability disappeared — not because the team was weak, but because the system lacked clarity.
Getting clear on roles and outcomes may lead to restructuring, but that’s the result, not the starting point. The real issue wasn’t structure. It was the thinking that shaped it.
The shift: From reaction to disciplined thinking
The solution isn’t more energy. It’s better clarity.
That’s why I teach leaders to use the 3Cs Process — a disciplined thinking process that helps them cut through complexity and move forward with purpose.
Disciplined thinking isn’t about sitting still. It’s about going deep. Most leaders think they’ve done the work after the first idea. But the real insight, the kind that leads to traction, comes several layers down.
That’s why teams end up focused on activities instead of outcomes. The leader often knows the outcome intuitively but never has articulated it. So people stay in motion, but no one takes ownership. Because ownership lives in the “how,” that only works when everyone understands the “what.”
Disciplined thinking doesn’t just make leaders sharper. It helps them become outcome communicators, which is what makes execution scalable.
How the 3Cs process works
Apply the 3Cs through these steps:
- Clarify your challenge.Most leaders react to the loudest symptom. The first move is stepping back to understand what’s truly blocking progress. What are we solving and why?
- Chart your course.Next, map a path forward by identifying non-negotiables — conditions that must be honored and outcomes that must be avoided. Think of them as bumpers. They don’t define every tactic, but they ensure the direction leads to success. For example, a product team might agree that the launch must happen before end of quarter, can’t bypass legal or customer service review, and must not disrupt current customers.
- Co-align the team.Execution doesn’t happen in isolation. Co-alignment means everyone involved understands the challenge, the plan, and their role. It also builds feedback loops to keep the plan adaptive.What to do if you feel stuck right now
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- Name what feels stuck. Be specific.
- Ask yourself, “What if this isn’t the real problem?”
- Step back. Look at the system, not just the symptom.
- Use the 3Cs Process. Clarify, chart, co-align.
It may feel like slowing down but it’s the fastest way forward.
Pat Alacqua is the author of Obstacles to Opportunity: Transforming Business Challenges into Triumphs – Stories and Strategies from Leaders Who’ve Mastered It (Entrepreneur to Enterprise, May 6, 2025).
The post Why Most Leaders Stay Stuck–Even When They’re Doing Everything Right appeared first on StartupNation.
