What does your full calendar say about you? (and your leadership)

Last month, a client (Director level) showed me his calendar. 37 hours of meetings. 3 hours for strategic work. 0 hours for thinking space.

‘I’m in meetings about meetings to discuss other meetings,’ he said, attempting humour but his eyes showed defeat.

Here’s what’s really happening: Your calendar isn’t just full — it’s consuming your capacity for meaningful leadership impact because you are playing the equivalent of whack-a-mole.

Those strategic initiatives you want to work on? Buried under back-to-backs. That innovative thinking? Squeezed into the 12 minutes between Zoom/Teams calls.

The real tragedy isn’t just lost time. It’s lost IMPACT potential.

Just yesterday I had a coaching call with another client (Head of Level) and he freely admitted that he was 100% confident he could remove 20% of the meetings from his calendar.

You see, when your calendar is busy — it’s telling you something crucial about your leadership.

When everything is urgent, nothing is important .

In working with mid-senior leaders across multiple organisations, I’ve noticed something fascinating: The most impactful leaders aren’t the ones who attend the most meetings. They’re the ones who’ve mastered the art of the ‘strategic no.’

Here’s the insight that causes most to pause:

Your calendar isn’t just a schedule. It’s a confession of your leadership priorities.

During our Amplify Leadership program, one of the frameworks we discuss transforms how leaders approach their calendar commitments. It’s not about saying no more — it’s about protecting your capacity for working on what truly matters.

I wanted to share it with you.

The framework includes 7 subtle but powerful distinctions which help you protect your boundaries. You select one option to reply to a meeting invitation and build your response around it.

❓Need a meeting? = Challenge the default

⛔️No = Protect your capacity

⏰ Not yet = Build in preparation time

🕵️ Need more…(data, info, clarity) = Get the right inputs first

📊 Not now but later = Honour your priorities first

🙅 Not me = Direct to the right person

🍝 Noodle = Make space for thinking to make meeting effective

Fix those, and your calendar transforms naturally.

The most powerful question isn’t ‘How do I fit it all in?’ It’s ‘What truly deserves my finite leadership capacity?’

That Director? He reclaimed 40% of his calendar in two weeks. His team’s performance? Transformed. His strategic impact? Finally visible.

Sometimes the bravest leadership move is protecting your capacity to actually lead.

That’s just 1 of the frameworks we share in Amplify. Would you like to get access to more?

#ExecutiveLeadership #ProductiveLeadership #StrategicThinking”

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.