5 Surprising Ways Disruption Hinders Even the Most Seasoned Leaders
Why even experienced leaders need to rethink their habits in times of complex change
Disruption doesn’t just shake up your strategy—it subtly reshapes your leadership.
And often, without you noticing.
As a seasoned leader, you’ve weathered uncertainty before. You’ve adapted, pivoted, restructured, and kept things moving. But disruption today doesn’t always look like a clear event—it shows up as complexity, velocity, and the exhaustion of making decision after decision in an environment that never quite settles.
And in this kind of terrain, even the most capable leaders can fall into patterns that unknowingly hinder effectiveness.
Here are five of the most common ways disruption gets in the way—and what to watch for:
1. Over-Relying on Agility
You know the world is changing, and you’re proud of your ability to pivot. But here’s the trap: Too much agility fractures focus. If everything is shifting, reacting, and adjusting… what holds the center?
Teams can start to feel like they’re chasing short-term fixes instead of building toward a meaningful direction. Your job as a leader isn’t just to stay flexible—it’s to hold a longer-term vision while choosing which changes actually matter.
Leadership Insight: Strategic agility requires intentionality. Say yes to shifts that serve your vision—not just what’s loudest in the moment.
2. Decision Paralysis Masquerading as Collaboration
In complexity, alignment feels essential. You gather perspectives, you consult your team, you keep everyone in the loop. But at some point, collaboration can turn into avoidance.
Too much consensus-seeking can stall key decisions—especially the uncomfortable ones. And in a disrupted environment, slowness has a cost.
Leadership Insight: Don’t confuse inclusive leadership with indecisiveness. Set timelines for input, then make the call.
3. Resilience Fatigue
You’ve been strong for your team. You’ve kept calm, stayed present, and kept things moving forward. But sometimes, the habit of being resilient turns into a form of emotional bypassing.
When you push through disruption without processing the weight of it—yours or your team’s—you risk disconnection. Fatigue sets in. Creativity wanes. Psychological safety erodes.
Leadership Insight: Tenacity is more powerful than resilience. Tenacity means you keep going while staying present to the human cost—and supporting recovery as you lead.
4. Avoiding Conflict in the Name of Stability
Disruption already creates tension. So it makes sense that leaders often want to keep things calm. But too often, that instinct turns into avoiding hard conversations that need to happen.
Maybe someone on the team isn’t adapting. Maybe there’s friction between departments. Maybe you’re tolerating underperformance because “now’s not the time.”
But here’s the truth: When leaders avoid conflict, the organization absorbs it. And the longer you wait, the harder it is to reset expectations.
Leadership Insight: Disruption is a pressure test for your culture. Lean into clarity, even when it’s uncomfortable.
5. Focusing on Urgency Instead of Relevance
You’re fielding emails, responding to shifts, managing competing demands—and your calendar is full. But in the race to handle the urgent, you might be missing what’s most relevant.
The market may be shifting. Customer needs may be evolving. Your team's capacity may be fraying. And if you're stuck in reactive mode, you’ll miss the subtle shifts that require a strategic pivot.
Leadership Insight: Schedule time each week to zoom out. Ask: What’s changed in the landscape? What still matters most? What needs to evolve?
You don’t need more noise—you need stronger insight, sharper focus, and leadership that rises to meet the moment.
Your leadership sets the tone. Let’s make it count.
Leadership Practice
Disruption is never just an external force. It reveals where your leadership is strong—and where it needs reinforcement.
Choose one of these five leadership patterns to explore further. Block 30–45 minutes on your calendar this week to reflect, journal, or talk it through with a trusted peer or advisor.
This is where forward momentum begins—not with fixing everything, but with seeing more clearly.
Ask yourself:
What’s one pattern above that might be showing up for you?
What would shift if you addressed it head-on this month?
If you are working with a TLI Executive Coach, be sure to share with them!
About Athena
Athena Williams, Founder and CEO of Tenacious Leadership Institute, has been supporting leaders worldwide to become more tenacious for over 20 years. She has found that tenacity is the key to sustained leadership success in today’s ever-changing world. Through her coaching and leadership development programs, she helps leaders expertly handle change, complexity and other challenges so they can quickly get better results for themselves, their teams and their organizations.
Take the first step to becoming a tenacious leader by scheduling a call with us.
