Procrastination Is A Protest Reaction

Procrastination is a protest reaction. And if you’re procrastinating on taking that 20-minute leadership assessment … let’s be honest about what you’re protesting.

It’s a Spicy 🌶️ Friday post!

Some months back, I was on a call with the brilliant Christina Brauer and she said “Procrastination is a protest reaction.” I wrote that on a sticky note and put it on my monitor.

I think of it every time I’m procrastinating on something, and get curious about what I’m protesting. I’ve learned to not accept my initial answer to the question, but to dig deeper.

I also think about it every time I’m chasing down a leader who hasn’t completed a 20-minute assessment.

What are they protesting? The easy answer is “They’re too busy. They don’t have the time.”

I call bullsh*t. They’re not too busy. They probably spent 20 minutes yesterday talking fantasy-whatever-ball in someone’s office or on a Teams call. Or reading an article about the Epstein files on the Wall Street Journal.

They have the time. They’re not making the time.

So if it’s not time, what is it really? What are the 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 protesting?

That’s the question worth asking.

Maybe they don’t believe leadership or team development matters. Maybe they’ve done assessments before and nothing changed. Maybe they’re afraid of what the data will show. Maybe they don’t trust how it will be used.

Maybe the organizational culture is one where leadership and team development isn’t a priority.

Whatever it is, the default variation of “I’m too busy” isn’t the real answer. It’s the acceptable one.

The real answer is behind it. And the real answer is a signal — about their relationship to their own development, about how they’ll show up for the harder work, about what they see as their responsibility to their colleagues, about what’s getting in the way that no one’s naming.

When a leader can’t find 20 minutes for something their CEO asked them to do, I get curious. Not annoyed. (Okay, a little annoyed. I am not their mother.) But mostly curious.

What are they protesting?

So they next time you’re chasing your leaders down to get something done (see: budgets, performance management, hard conversations) ask yourself what they might be protesting.

Hey there! I’m a leadership team whisperer, executive coach, and speaker. I guide leadership teams in high-growth companies to achieve rapid growth in a healthy, sustainable way. I coach senior leaders to discover the path to lead with ease.

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