Welcome to Day 3 , A-Players give leaders time back.
Most exhausted leaders don’t have a work ethic problem.
They have a team problem.
When you don’t have the right people in the right roles, leaders start compensating.
They:
- step into decisions that shouldn’t need them
- finish the last 10–20% of other people’s work
- cover gaps across multiple roles
It’s like playing soccer while running every position on the field.
You can’t win that way.
And you definitely can’t get your time back.
What a true A-Player team looks like
An A-Player isn’t just someone who performs. An A-Player:
- lives the core values
- meets or exceeds performance expectations
- runs ahead of the leader... not behind
- doesn’t need to be carried, rescued, or chased
These are the people leaders cheer on.
When you have a majority A-Player leadership team:
- execution accelerates
- leaders stop compensating
- energy comes back
- time starts to return
That’s why leaders with the right team don’t feel tired...they’re winning, and it’s fun.
Why B and C players drain time
B-Players aren’t bad people — but they take time.
Leaders need to:
- check in more often
- finish work for them
- coach constantly
C-Players take even more.
Leaders need to:
- run backward to rescue them
- repeat direction
- carry them forward
The more B’s and C’s on the team, the more exhausted leaders become — because they’re doing extra work every day.
This isn’t about blame...it’s about leadership
This isn’t about ripping band-aids off.
It’s about being honest:
- Who is running ahead of you?
- Who is slightly behind but coachable?
- Who is holding the team back?
Leadership time gets reclaimed when leaders stop carrying the team and start building a majority A-Player leadership group over time. That’s how execution improves.
That’s how plans actually get delivered.
And that’s how leaders get their time back.
What’s next
Tomorrow, we’ll look at why systems, not effort, stop time from slipping away as organizations grow.
Want clarity?
Most leaders think they know who their A-Players are and they’re usually wrong.
The A-Player Team Assessment helps you see exactly who is running ahead, who needs coaching, and where leadership time is leaking.