How Do You Develop Your Team When You Don't Have Time?

“How am I supposed to develop my people when I can barely keep up?” If you’ve said that out loud, you’re not failing, you’re seeing the real pressure of modern leadership. But that one sentence can quietly become the most expensive habit in your organization.

We dig into what’s really happening when development keeps getting postponed: institutional knowledge walks out the door, talented people leave when they stop seeing a future, and leaders burn out by carrying work that was never meant to sit on one set of shoulders. What feels like a time problem at your desk becomes a culture problem across the company. We also name the hard truth most teams avoid: the time usually isn’t missing, the decision is.

Then we get practical. Leadership development doesn’t require another program or a new meeting cadence. It shows up in the day to day work through micro-coaching moments: asking “What do you think?” before you answer, slowing down just enough to bring someone along, and treating readiness as a daily practice. Those small choices compound into better delegation, stronger succession planning, higher retention, and a team that can move without you as the bottleneck.

If you want sustainable growth without sacrificing your life, listen through to the end and pick one moment today to develop someone in real time. Subscribe for more clarity-driven leadership strategies, share this with a leader who feels stretched thin, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Transcript

Debbie Peterson 0:01

Hey, hello, and welcome back. I am Debbie Peterson of Getting to Clarity, and this is another episode of the Getting to Clarity Podcast, your next clear move. Because that is all you have to figure out to stay in momentum. Not the whole goal, not the whole timeline, just your next clear move. And today we're going to help you move in that direction. And I'm glad you're here for this conversation because it is one that comes up almost every time I am in a room with leaders, future leaders, and I mean that literally. It came up just recently with a group that I was working with, and I haven't really stopped thinking about it since. It's just been percolating in my mind. And here's what they kept asking: how are we supposed to develop our people when we can barely keep up with everything else? I mean, they listed off all the things that they have going on in their day, the things that come up that aren't anticipated, and I get it. So I want to be clear. These are people who care. It's not like they didn't care. These are people who genuinely wanted to invest in their teams. They were just stretched, and their teams were stretched. And the idea of adding one more thing felt like a little too much. So today we're going to talk about what is actually happening when we feel that way, uh, what it's quietly costing us and our organizations, and what it looks like to develop our people without adding a thing to your calendar. Because here's what I have come to believe the time isn't missing, the decision is. And once you make it, everything starts to shift. So stay tuned.

SPEAKER_02 1:46

Welcome to the Getting to Clarity Podcast.

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The place where busy leaders discover how to create more success in their leadership journey with less sacrifice in their life.

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Here's your host, Debbie Peterson of Getting to Clarity.

Micro-Moments That Build Capability

The Hidden Cost To Culture

The Leadership Question And Next Steps

Debbie Peterson 2:04

Okay, so what exactly are we talking about? So as I said, recently I had an opportunity to do a keynote and a deep dive for a group of leaders. And the conversation kept circling back to the same question. How are we supposed to develop our people when we can barely keep up with everything that we have on our to-do list that we know about and those that we don't even see coming? And it wasn't that they were putting this to me for resistance, it wasn't lack of care, it was just their reality. You know, we have a lot going on and they were stretched. You know, their teams had a lot going on. And the idea of adding more things can feel like too much. But here's what that pattern costs at scale. Okay, so knowledge walks out the door, right? We we talked about knowledge transfer, walks out the door when there is no development and when no one is ready to carry that knowledge forward. Good people leave when they stop seeing a future. And leaders burn out carrying weight that was never meant to be theirs alone. So what feels like a personal time problem is quietly becoming an organizational one. And if you've ever thought that, well, you're not alone. But let me say something. This is where the conversation usually stops short. When we say, I don't have the time to develop my people, what we're often saying is that, and I say this with love and grace, that our people don't matter enough to change how we're leading the work. And that's not easy to hear. And I don't say it lightly because I have lived it myself. When you're in the habit of just getting it done, doing it yourself, or you're, you know, moving faster feels like it's efficient, that you're actually creating more time. But what is actually happening is you are creating the very pressure you're trying to relieve because you're the only one taking care of it. So the only way out of that cycle is to have more capable people around you. And it happens because you choose. In the middle of a real work day, you choose to slow down just enough to bring someone along. And that's not accidental, it's a decision. And that's where development lives. It's not a separate meeting, it's not a big chunk of time, it's not in a program, although you know, programming helps, it's in the actual day-to-day work. So, for instance, someone brings you a problem. Instead of answering that problem, you ask what they think first. You let them work through it out loud, and then you have an opportunity to add to it, to shape it, to redirect if needed. And that exchange took maybe an extra, I don't know, few minutes, but the person learned something. They just got better. And the next time they might not need to come to you at all. So, what happens is a lot of times these moments get missed. So, for instance, you're in the middle of something, there is um pressure on you because there's a deadline and the thought crosses your mind, hey, it's just gonna, it's easier for me to do this myself because I know it'll be done right, and and then I won't have to worry about it. One and done, right? And maybe it will be today. But that decision repeated over time is what keeps your team dependent on you. You know, if you're gonna, if they're you're gonna solve their problems, then they're gonna come to you to solve their problems because that's what you've taught them, that's what you've trained them. And when the team is totally dependent on you, then that's when you become overwhelmed. And most leaders, you know, they're not lacking time. They're just, it's that decision about what matters most in the moment. Because when everything feels important, then nothing move forward moves forward. And that's where readiness shows up. Readiness is an attitude, it's a mindset. Um, it's not just a concept, it's a daily practice inside the work you are already doing. And how it happens and what it looks like is this you notice what is happening, you choose intentionally how to respond in favor of developing your people, no matter how small a move that is. You bring someone along instead of moving past them, and that's it. In doing that, you're not only leading differently, you're building the people who are going to carry things forward when you can't. So it's available in almost every interaction that you have. You just have to decide to see them that way. What is one move I can make that will help develop this person? And if you are uh in the habit of doing that, then that compounds. So I see this when I come in and I watch leaders with their teams. And it's it's visible within a short period of time. You can tell, you know, watch whether they handle everything themselves or they pull others into the conversation. Notice whether they ask questions or they're just giving answers. Those small moments will tell you everything about whether someone is developing their people or simply just trying to get it all done because they've got a lot going on, they want to get through the day. So, what happens if you don't find the opportunities to develop your people? Well, I'm so glad you asked because that's an important question. And here's where this becomes bigger than one leader. If this pattern continues, the organization in some way, shape, or form is going to pay for it. Because here's what I heard literally from this client that I recently had an opportunity to do the keynote and deep dive with. We were talking about um succession planning and we were talking about retention, and it's kind of at a crisis level in their industry. And it's showing up in all industries. And here's what they said institutional knowledge is disappearing because nobody is, there's no knowledge transfer transfer, nobody's paying it forward, carrying it forward. Um, talented people are leaving because they stopped believing growth was possible there, so they don't see a future for themselves. Leaders collapse under the weight that was never meant to be theirs alone, meaning that you find your good people and you start grinding through them because you know that they'll get it done and you start depending on them perhaps a little too much. And then the organization spends its energy reacting to um the crisis, putting out fires, um, putting a butt in a seat instead of making these decisions intentionally, meaning that they're reacting and they're not able to be in a place where they can actually move forward. And sometimes culture is not going to survive this, let's put out every fire crisis sort of attitudes and moments. But when leaders shift how they approach the work, then growth stops depending on just a few exhausted people at the top. Knowledge gets shared instead of hoarded, promotions can be made with confidence rather than urgency. The organization starts making deliberate moves instead of putting out fires. Momentum becomes something that you build, not something that you scramble to recover every time someone walks out the door. Are you following me? So that doesn't come from having more time. It comes because we all have the same amount of time, right? That comes from using the time that you already have different. So instead of asking, well, how do I find the time? It might be worth asking, where in the work that you are already doing are you missing the opportunity to develop someone? It's in the time that you have. And then that lands a little differently because once you start looking for those moments, you realize that they were never missing. You were just moving too fast to see them. And when you slow down enough to use them, then things around you start to shift. If you don't have the time to develop your people, then it's worth sitting with one more question. Are you sure that you want to be in leadership? And this is not a challenge. This is an invitation because the leaders who ask it honestly are the ones who are ready to care enough to answer it well. And if this is something you're thinking about, you're not alone. These are conversations I find myself with leaders and organizations who know that sustainable growth doesn't come from a few exhausted people at the top. It comes from building capacity at every level. And that work starts with individual leaders noticing what's already in front of them, how they can leverage the opportunities they already have. But it scales when organizations decide that lead that way intentionally. So if you're ready to explore what that looks like with your team or your organization, I would love to have that conversation with you. And you can head on over to my website at www.debipetersonspeaks.com and learn more about my keynote speaking and leadership readiness development work. So until the next time, here is wishing you the clarity that you deserve to be able to find the moments throughout the day to develop your people forward. Take care, be good to yourself, and bye-bye for now.

SPEAKER_02 11:09

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Getting to Clarity Podcast with Debbie Peterson.

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If you enjoyed this show, please rate and recommend it on iTunes or wherever you enjoy your podcast.

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To learn more about how you can bring Debbie and her transformational clarity leadership strategies to your organization, visit Debbie Peterson Speaks.com.