One of the hardest parts of leadership isn’t strategy. It’s momentum.
Teams drift. Leaders hesitate. Idleness becomes comfortable — even rational. But progress requires movement, and movement requires someone willing to act.
Few leaders understood this better than Ernest Shackleton.
During the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition — the journey later chronicled in Endurance — Shackleton kept his stranded crew alive not simply through courage, but through purposeful action. Every man had a job. Clean the camp. Hunt for food. Scout the ice. Prepare the dogs. Even when there was little to do, he made sure no one drifted into destructive stillness.
Shackleton believed idleness was more dangerous than exertion — a leadership principle that still applies today.
I’ve found the same truth in my own work. Stagnation rarely comes from lack of intelligence. It comes from overthinking. From waiting for perfect clarity. From trying to make the “right” choice instead of making a choice that will teach you what the right one is.
As leaders, we often slow our teams down by trying to analyze every angle.
And while thoughtful decisions matter, hesitation has a cost: it trains the team to wait. Waiting becomes the culture.
This is why I challenge my teams with a simple principle:
Assume Action.
Waiting on another team?
Assume action — reach out first.
Need input?
Assume action — request it directly.
See a problem forming?
Assume action — address it before it lands on your desk.
Progress doesn’t come from convenience or consensus.
Progress comes from leaders who create motion.
A Practical Takeaway for Your Week
Ask yourself — and your team — this question every morning:
“What action can I take right now that would create momentum?”
Then take it.
Not perfectly.
Not completely.
Just decisively.
Movement is the remedy for stagnation.
Assume action — and the path will clarify.
Stay consistent. Stay boring.
Consistently Boring 