(And Why It’s Costing Them More Than They Realize)
Every year, without fail, I watch brilliant executives repeat the same ritual.
Q1 is about momentum. Q2 is about execution. Q3 is about pushing harder. Q4 is about squeezing what’s left.
Spreadsheets get sharper. Dashboards get cleaner. SOPs get refined. KPIs get tracked, reviewed, and reported.
And yet… something essential keeps getting missed.
Not because these leaders aren’t smart. Not because they don’t care. But because most quarterly thinking is mechanical, not intentional.
Numbers matter. Metrics matter. Systems matter. But they are not the mission.
And when quarters become nothing more than containers for goals, businesses slowly lose their soul, their people burn out, and leaders feel successful on paper but unfulfilled in real life.
The Real Issue Isn’t the Quarter, It’s the Lens
Here’s what I see in my executive coaching work over and over again:
Leaders don’t lack strategy. They lack presence, purpose, and proper allocation of energy between the milestones.
Quarters were never meant to be lived as sprints from goal to goal. They were meant to be chapters—each with a different role in the larger story.
But most organizations run every quarter the same way:
- Chase outcomes
- React to pressure
- Review performance
- Repeat
What’s missing?
- Mission alignment
- Human development
- State of being
- How leaders are thinking, feeling, and breathing while they pursue success
And that’s not a soft conversation. That’s a performance conversation.
A Different Way to Look at the Year
I challenge my clients to stop asking:
“What do we need to hit this quarter?”
And start asking:
“Who do we need to become this quarter for those results to be sustainable?”
Because results are a lagging indicator of identity, culture, and energy.
A Reframed Way to Think About Quarters
Q1 – Orientation, Not Acceleration
Instead of immediately pushing, Q1 should be about clarity:
- Are we aligned with the mission?
- Do our people understand why we’re doing what we’re doing?
- Are we operating from intention or reaction?
This is the quarter to slow down just enough to aim correctly.
Q2 – Embodiment, Not Just Execution
Q2 is where most leaders think they’re executing, but they’re often just maintaining.
This is the quarter to ask:
- Are our leaders modeling the behaviors we expect?
- Are we building capability or just output?
- Are we spending time developing people, or only managing them?
Execution without embodiment creates hollow wins.
Q3 – Integration, Not Overexertion
Q3 is notorious for burnout because leaders confuse pressure with progress.
This quarter should be about integration:
- Refining systems
- Protecting energy
- Strengthening communication
- Creating space for recovery and creativity
Peak performers don’t redline all year. They oscillate intentionally.
Q4 – Reflection, Not Extraction
Most organizations try to squeeze Q4 dry.
But reflection compounds more than force.
Q4 should be about:
- Meaningful review
- Gratitude
- Wisdom extraction
- Preparing the nervous system and culture for what’s next
When reflection is rushed, growth is delayed.
The Missing Metric: How Time Is Experienced
Here’s the truth most dashboards won’t show you:
Two leaders can hit the same numbers, One feels alive, grounded, and proud of their people. The other feels exhausted, disconnected, and numb.
Same outcomes. Very different costs.
That difference comes down to:
- State management
- Breath
- Awareness
- Faith
- Presence
- How time is experienced between goals, not just at the finish line
That’s the work beneath the work.
A Powerful Question for the Next Quarter
Before you plan your next quarter, ask yourself this:
“If we hit every goal, but lose our energy, alignment, or people, did we actually win?”
And then ask the deeper one:
“What would it look like to design this quarter around impact, development, and intentional living, not just results?”
Call to Action
If you’re an executive who is done running quarters on autopilot, If you want performance and peace, results and meaning, If you’re ready to lead from intention, not exhaustion,
Then it’s time to stop managing time and start mastering how you show up within it.
This is the work I do with high-performing leaders every day. And it changes everything.
