In college, I played a lot of racquetball.
When I first started, I ran all over the court. I chased the ball. I moved fast. I worked hard. And after a few games, I was exhausted. Completely spent.
After a semester of playing every week, something changed. I realized racquetball wasn’t about moving fast or covering every inch of the court. It was about moving with intention –placing myself in the right spot and letting the ball come to me.
Ironically, once I stopped chasing everything, I played better and had more energy left at the end of the match.
That lesson has stayed with me.
Experience Changes How You Move
Early in leadership, it’s easy to play like a beginner racquetball player. Everything feels urgent. Every issue needs attention. Every opinion feels like something you need to respond to immediately.
Speed feels like effectiveness.
But over time, you learn that leadership isn’t about reacting to everything in motion. It’s about positioning: knowing where to stand, when to move, and when not to.
The real advantage of experience isn’t that you move faster. It’s that you move less — and more deliberately.
The First Question Isn’t “How Fast?”
These days, when something lands in my Inbox — a concern, a proposal, a problem — the first question I ask isn’t:
“How quickly do we need to act?”
It’s:
“Is this actually new?”
Most of the time, it isn’t.
It’s a familiar pattern, a recurring tension, or an issue I’ve seen before, just dressed differently. Experience makes that easier to see. And once you see the pattern, urgency tends to lose its grip.
Don’t Chase Every Ball
One of the hardest leadership disciplines is resisting the urge to chase everything that comes your way.
When leaders do that, organizations learn to wait. They wait for input. They wait for correction. They wait for permission. Over time, momentum slows. Not because people aren’t capable, but because they’re watching the leader run the court.
Sometimes the most helpful move is to hold your position.
Sometimes it’s to ask a question instead of giving an answer.
Sometimes it’s to let the ball come to you.
That kind of restraint doesn’t come from confidence alone. It usually comes from having worn yourself out a few times first.
What I’m Aiming for Now
These days, I’m less interested in how fast I’m moving and more interested in whether I’m positioned well.
Well-positioned to:
- see what actually matters,
- let others fully own outcomes,
- and stay engaged for the long game.
Just like racquetball, leadership isn’t about covering the entire court. It’s about knowing where to stand.
And letting the rest come to you.
