What Is My Ideal Allocation of Leadership Energy, Time and Focus?

Read Time: 3 minutes.

Happy Father’s Day to those who celebrate ;)

Just like last week, I want to bring you inside some coaching I did with leaders in our MGMT Accelerator cohort.

Real questions. Real answers.
All based on our real experience.

Is There An Ideal Allocation of Time For Leaders?

"I feel like I'm not using my time well. I'm either spending too much time focused on strategy that's not going to move the needle for years, or I'm sucked down into the day-to-day details, and no one is guiding the company. Is there an ideal allocation of my time?"

Every CEO I coach struggles with this exact tension.

You can't think big picture eight hours a day. But you also can't afford to lose touch with the ground truth of your business.

The answer isn't choosing one or the other. It's adjust your balance to meet the moment.

The 10-25-65 Baseline Framework

After years of coaching executives and running my own business, I've landed on a simple allocation that works across different company sizes and stages:

10%: Strategy (Future Focus) This is your job as CEO. Imagine the company in 5-10 years. New markets, new opportunities, new threats. You’re the primary capital allocator. You’ll own the success or failure of any acquisitions. Until you're another zero bigger and can hire a team for this, it's all you.

No one will care as much as you do. No one will see all the connections you see.

25%: Talent (Capacity Building) Do you have the leadership team for the company you're becoming? This includes:

• Identifying future leaders

• Developing current leaders

• Making tough decisions about wrong fits

• Building the bench for tomorrow's challenges

• Defending the culture you’ve worked so hard to build

65%: Operations (Present Focus) Stay connected to ground truth. Talk to frontline employees and customers. Solve real problems in your current strategy, not just the one you're building toward.

This isn't micromanaging. It's pattern recognition. The insights you gather here inform your strategic thinking above.

On a 60 hour week (because seriously, is any leader working 40 at this point?), that breaks down to:

• 5 hours on Strategy

• 15 hours working on Talent

• And the remaining 40 on Operations

The Weekly Rhythm

This framework isn't about perfect daily balance. It's about weekly intentionality:

Monday: Strategic Planning Review your strategic initiatives. What moved forward last week? What's stuck? Where do you need to apply pressure?

Tuesday-Thursday: Operations + Talent Mix of ground-truth conversations, problem-solving, and people development. This is where the bulk of your leadership happens.

Friday: Strategic Reflection What did you learn this week that changes your strategic thinking? What patterns are emerging? What needs to shift?

The Flex Factor Leave 20% of your week unscheduled. Crises happen. Opportunities emerge. Rigid systems break under pressure.

Considering marrying this approach with our Minimum Viable Cadence.

When the Balance Shifts

Some weeks will be 60% operations because of a crisis. Some will be 60% strategy because of a major decision. That's normal.

The danger is when you spend multiple weeks in only one bucket:

• All Strategy: You lose touch with reality and your team loses confidence in your leadership

• All Operations: You become a bottleneck and miss the big picture

• All Talent: Your business stagnates while you're developing people

Check yourself weekly: "Did I spend meaningful time in all three areas?"

If the answer is no, course-correct immediately.

The Hidden Imbalances (And How to Fix Them)

Most leaders think they're balanced. They're not.

And you can’t address a blind spot until you can see it.

The Strategy Addict

The Pattern: You love the big thinking. Vision sessions energize you. You read industry reports and attend conferences. Your calendar is full of "strategic" meetings.

The Reality Check: When did you last solve a frontline problem? Talk to a customer? Understand why your team is frustrated?

The Fix: Force operational immersion. Block two hours weekly for "ground truth" conversations. Rotate through different departments. Ask: "What's broken that I don't see?"

Warning Sign: Your team starts making decisions without you because you're "too strategic" to bother with details.

The Operations Junkie

The Pattern: You're the hero who swoops in to solve problems. Your inbox is full of escalations. People come to you because "you get things done."

The Reality Check: Who's thinking about next year while you're fixing this week? What opportunities are you missing while you're in the weeds?

The Fix: Create a "CEO-only" list. Before diving into any problem, ask: "Am I the only person who can solve this?" If not, delegate and coach instead of doing.

Warning Sign: Your strategic initiatives haven't moved in months because you're too busy "keeping the lights on."

The Talent Avoider

The Pattern: People development feels slow and abstract. You'd rather focus on immediate business results. One-on-ones get cancelled. Difficult conversations get postponed.

The Reality Check: Your business is only as strong as your weakest leader. Every day you delay developing people is a day you stay the bottleneck.

The Fix: Make talent development non-negotiable. Block time for one-on-ones like you would board meetings. Track leadership development like you track revenue.

Warning Sign: You're constantly frustrated that your team "doesn't think like owners" but you've never invested in teaching them how.

The Self-Diagnostic

Answer these questions honestly:

Strategy: When did you last spend uninterrupted time thinking about your industry's future?

Operations: When did you last discover something about your business that surprised you?

Talent: When did you last have a conversation that meaningfully developed someone on your team?

If you can't answer any of these with "this week," you've found your blind spot.

The most dangerous leaders are those who think they're balanced when they're actually stuck in their comfort zone.

Your company needs all three versions of you to succeed. But it needs you to be honest about which version you're avoiding.

What You Missed This Week

Our Sunday AM posts:

📌 12 Visual Wake Up Calls (Dave on LI)
📌  11 Powerful Mindset Shifts (Mar on LI)
📌 Tribute to My Dad (a Recovery Story) (Dave on X)

And here are our most popular posts last week:

1. Success Is How You Show Up (Mar on LI)

2. 9 Subtle Signs Before a Bad Hire (Dave on LI)

3. And this got a lot of engagement…

Our goal is to build a community of 1 million thoughtful, curious leaders.

You can help us by sharing anything that resonates with you.  

Thank you for reading. Appreciate you!

Dave & Mar