From Firefighting to Continuous Improvement: Build Your Leadership Oxygen Flow

Written by Didier Rabino | 10/1/24 3:42 PM

Put On Your Leadership Oxygen Mask First

Imagine you're on a plane. The flight attendant reminds you: "Put on your own oxygen mask before helping others." That’s not just aviation safety. It’s a powerful metaphor for leadership. You cannot support your team or improve your system if you cannot breathe.

The Shift: From Reactive to Proactive

Over time, leaders must transition from constant firefighting to a focus on anticipated activities and continuous improvement. But that shift is not automatic. It requires intention, structure, and discipline. It's not about a better calendar. It's about clarity, courage, and consistency.

A Story of Burnout and Recovery

Years ago, I worked with a manufacturing plant where one frontline supervisor stood out for all the wrong reasons. He worked 10- to 12-hour days, seven days a week. He was deeply committed to supporting his team, but that commitment came at the cost of sustainability. Burnout loomed.

We decided to intervene with a series of coaching sessions. Our objective was to help this leader build a sustainable leadership routine. The steps we followed were practical, simple, and effective.

Step 1: Capture the Current State

We asked him to track his activities over a few days:

What was he doing?
When did he do it?
How long did it take?
Why was he doing it?

This exercise revealed where his time and energy were going. It created a clear mirror for reflection.

Step 2: Ask the Right Questions

With this data in hand, we went through a structured review:

What tasks can be eliminated?
What can be simplified?
What can be delegated?
What can be moved to a better time?
What can be combined?

A major breakthrough came with timecard reconciliation. He used to handle this at the end of each day, after employees had gone home. That created delays and follow-up. We moved it earlier, when employees were still around. That simple shift saved time and reduced errors.

Step 3: Reinforce with Standard Work

We captured his new routine in a simple Leader Standard Work document. It wasn’t a rigid plan, but a structure to support intention. Weeks later, I saw him on the floor. When I asked how he was doing, he smiled, pulled out a folded sheet from his pocket, and said, “Fantastic.”

That paper was his oxygen mask.

Understanding Why Leaders End Up Firefighting

This kind of burnout is not rare. Across industries, I’ve seen five recurring causes:

Unstable Processes: Leaders spend energy managing variability, missing materials, unclear instructions, and equipment breakdowns.
Poor Visual Controls: Without visual cues, problems stay hidden until they explode.
Lack of Team-Based Problem Solving: If teams cannot solve problems, everything escalates to the leader.
Unclear Expectations: When roles and responsibilities are vague, leaders are stuck filling gaps.
No Escalation System: Without a system for triaging problems, leaders treat every issue like an emergency.

Build a Leadership Flywheel

The alternative to burnout is not just better time management. It’s building a leadership system. I call it the flywheel:

Fix a recurring issue → Create more time → Use time to coach → Empower team problem-solving → Free up leadership time → Repeat

Each cycle creates more space for the next improvement. Leaders stop putting out fires and start preventing them.

Start with Small Wins

You do not need a six-month initiative to start this journey. Begin with one recurring frustration. Ask:

Why does this keep happening?
Who needs to be involved to fix it?
What standard or visual could prevent it?

Share wins. Celebrate progress. Reinforce learning. These micro-improvements matter. They set the tone for culture change.

Normalize the Norm

Fire-free leadership is not about perfection. It is about making the right things normal:

Starting and ending the day on time
Leading standard processes with confidence
Coaching and supporting learning
Creating space to anticipate and improve

These actions reduce burnout and increase engagement. People feel seen, supported, and successful.

Five Practical Tools to Support the Shift

Here are the tools I recommend for leaders who want to move from firefighting to focus:

Daily Time Tracker. Track activities, start/end times, and purpose. Reflect on patterns.
Eliminate-Simplify-Delegate Framework: Review your task list and ask:
- Can this be eliminated?
- Can it be simplified?
- Can it be delegated?
- Can it be combined?
Create Leader Standard Work
- Check-ins
- Visual reviews
- Problem-solving
- Coaching
- Improvement time
Escalation Pathway. Clarify when and how issues are escalated. Build tiered response systems that support decision-making.
Daily Coaching Habit. Ask one question each day:
- What’s the biggest issue right now?
- What support do you need?
- What can we improve today?

These tools are not complex. But they generate momentum. They build the habits that make cultural change possible.

Final Thought: Leadership Is a System, Not a Heroic Act

Too often, we celebrate heroic leaders who save the day. But that should not be the standard. Systems, not heroes, create sustainable performance.

If you are stuck in firefighting mode, you are not failing. You are operating inside a system that needs redesign. You can fix that system. You can build a structure. You can coach instead of chase. You can breathe.

For one supervisor, it started with a time tracker. For you, it might be a single question asked during your next huddle. Each improvement opens the door to the next.

Put on your leadership oxygen mask. Then help others do the same.

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