I enjoy exercising on a treadmill, even though I know that no matter how fast I go or how long I run, I will end up in the same place. At least I have the consolation of being more fit and healthy after my exercise. If only the same were true of the leadership treadmill. We run from the break of dawn until the stroke of midnight, instantly available to one and all. We are exhausted physically and mentally. We have taken no time to think strategically about the future, or even to reflect on the short term.

As a result, we are depleted—that is, less focused, less energetic, less decisive—as leaders. We have to get off the treadmill, or else we’ll be unable to see our priorities, facilitate results and enable the development of our people.

There are a variety of phenomena that have driven us to this state. Economic pressures, once cyclical, have been an ever-present part of business for at least the past decade. Meanwhile, technology has had an impact on the pace of our days. Cell phones and BlackBerrys have increased our mobility, but they also pressure us to respond to every little thing. I once heard a presentation about a phone system that can get a message to you by any device. I thought, Great, now we can have a corporate version of hide-and-seek! Whether we gain productivity or lose it depends on whether we use technology to enhance our lives or allow ourselves to be abused by it.

Stop Running

You know you’re stuck on the treadmill when "irritated" defines your attitude. Your work suffers. You rush through budget preparation, and must do it over when it doesn’t meet corporate guidelines. You have systems that never met business needs because requirements planning was given short shrift. Eventually, your people lose any sense of when a task is urgent, and they discount the importance of activities that never seem to be completed.

Time-pressured decisions (and the behavior that accompanies them) will erode your effectiveness and your sustainability as a leader. Yes, the world seems to demand a short-term focus, but at the same time, we are expected to deliver the results of long-term thinking.

Start Getting Somewhere

Your health, your peace of mind, maybe even your job are at stake—unless you get control of your life. When children are young, we discipline them with "time-outs" in the hope that they will reflect on their behavior and change their ways. We may need executive "time-outs" to gain the distance needed to rediscover or reevaluate what is important in our lives.