The two traits that separate effective leaders from busy ones

As a leader, there is one topic I’m always interested in — what things successful leaders and effective CEOs do differently to get results and reach ambitious goals.

Research shows that the success or failure of an organization depends largely on how effectively CEOs and senior executives use their time, and how well they maintain their focus on a few major priorities.

Only 10% of leaders are truly effective — and it’s not because the other 90% don’t work hard. Most work extremely hard. The difference isn’t effort — it’s where that effort goes.

Research by Heike Bruch and Sumantra Ghoshal published in the Harvard Business Review illustrates a similar picture: of the managers observed in 12 large companies over a decade, only 10% were found to spend their time on work that would have a long-term positive impact on the business.

Those of you who are leaders would agree that this is actually true for many companies and organizations. But it can be changed.

As someone who has led teams and organizations for 25+ years, I can tell you this matches what I’ve observed consistently. And at different stages of my own career, I’ve been in each of these categories — including the ones that are hardest to admit.

Two important traits of effective leaders

According to Bruch and Ghoshal, CEOs and other executives who effectively bring very ambitious goals to fruition have two traits in common: focus and energy.

Focus refers to clarity of purpose and the ability to see a task through to completion.

Energy stems from an intense personal commitment that drives the executive to push harder when coping with a heavy workload or meeting tight timelines.

Neither trait alone is sufficient. High energy without focus produces frantic activity. High focus without energy produces analysis without execution. The combination — purposeful, directed, sustained — is what separates the 10% from the rest.

4 categories of Executives

Bruch and Ghoshal contend that every executive fits into one of the following categories, based on the levels of energy and focus they exhibit:

Distracted (40%)

Forty percent of the managers studied showed a blend of high energy and low focus. These are the well-intentioned, highly active people who lack sufficient focus. Because they are easily distracted, they tend to overcommit. They are always busy — even frantic — but they often confuse activity with results. This is the most common category, and the hardest to self-diagnose precisely because the busyness feels productive.

Procrastinators (30%)

The researchers found 30% of managers exhibited both low focus and low energy. These are the managers who attend meetings and follow up on phone calls and emails, but rarely take initiative and often miss deadlines. From the outside this can look like disengagement. From the inside it often feels like overwhelm — too many competing demands, not enough clarity on what actually matters.

Disengaged (20%)

Leaders who are highly focused but who lack passion and interest fell into this category. Disengaged managers view their jobs as merely a paycheck. Such managers may be burned out, or their jobs may hold little meaning for them.

This category is often misread as a character flaw. In my experience it rarely is. Disengagement is frequently a response to an environment that drains energy faster than it can be replenished — burnout, chronic micromanagement, sustained misalignment between what a leader values and what the organization rewards. It’s a survival mechanism, not a personal failing. Recognizing the trigger matters more than judging the symptom.

Purposeful (10%)

Only 10% of managers were found to be highly energetic and highly focused. These executives have clarity on what matters, the energy to pursue it, and the discipline to protect both. This is where sustained results come from — not heroic effort, but directed effort, consistently applied.

The honest question isn’t which category sounds best. It’s which one describes how you actually spent last week.

11 things the most effective leaders do

According to different studies, the most effective leaders practice these things:

1. They have a clear sense of purpose that drives their decisions in business and life
2. They select their goals carefully, and arrange the external environment to support those goals
3. They focus on one thing at a time — no multitasking
4. They do not let other people or organizational constraints set their agendas
5. They choose not to respond immediately to every issue that comes their way or get sidetracked from their goals by distractions like email, meetings, setbacks, and unforeseen demands
6. To maximize the value of their time, they schedule emails, phone calls, and visitors into certain times of the day
7. When challenges mount, they slow down and reflect on what they most want to achieve — the opposite of the instinct to accelerate
8. They carefully weigh their options before selecting a course of action
9. They’re skilled at managing their energy — typically through physical exercise, recovery, and protecting boundaries
10. They track where their time goes
11. They eliminate unnecessary meetings

None of these are complicated. Most leaders know them. The gap isn’t knowledge — it’s the discipline to protect them when organizational pressure pushes in the opposite direction.

What you can do about it

To improve your ability to FOCUS:

• Review your goals and choose the most important ones to focus on now
• Plan weekly and review daily
• Schedule a 1.5–2 hour block of time each day for thinking about aspects of your life and business that are important but not yet urgent
• Eliminate distractions — people, phone, emails, notifications
• Do only one thing at a time — don’t try to multitask
• Cut out unnecessary meetings

To improve your ENERGY:

• Identify the time of day when your energy level is highest — block that time for your most important tasks
• Identify the time of day when your energy is lowest — use it for routine tasks
• Avoid negative people where possible
• Spend more time with people who motivate and energize you
• Get enough sleep to recharge — usually 7–8 hours
• Exercise regularly and eat properly throughout the day — don’t skip meals

You too can start practicing these things — if you don’t do them already.

Which of the four categories best describes how you led last week — and what would need to change to move toward Purposeful?

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