FEATURE
What to do about it
The research points to several practical steps leaders can take.
• Reduce the decision load. Decision fatigue is cumulative, with every minor choice depleting the same resource as a major one. So, prioritise what you focus on by identifying what can be delayed or delegated.
• Protect cognitive recovery time. Brief periods of low-demand activity between highintensity tasks – even just 10 to 15 minutes – demonstrably restore prefrontal function.
• Protect time for strategic thinking. Under overload, the brain defaults to tactical. Blocking time explicitly for longer-horizon thinking and treating it as non-negotiable counters the natural narrowing of focus that comes with overload.
• Get external input. To correct what overload is doing to you, you first need to identify it. A coach or trusted colleague who can see what you can’ t from the inside is one of the most reliable ways to identify what cognitive load is doing to you.
Mark eventually took a week of holiday. He came back having made three decisions he’ d been circling for months, and with a clearer head about what he actually needed to stop doing. The signs had been there before. He just hadn’ t known what he was looking at.
Psychologist Nik Kinley is a leadership coach, assessor and advisor who helps organisations manage uncertainty and sustain strategic focus. He is the author of multiple leadership books, most recently The Power Trap. x www. intelligentcxo. com
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