Welcome to another Toolkit Tuesday! Every week, our goal is to give you a practical leadership tool to put in your toolkit.

The Challenge

So there I (Steve) was… watching my son take his first golf lesson. I expected them to start by hitting drives off the tee — but the coach had him on the putting green. “We start with the short game,” he said. “Because in golf, the little things are what make the biggest difference.”

As they practiced, the coach added something that stuck with me: “So much of golf is muscle memory, so practicing often matters.”

That hit like a hard truth I already knew deep down—but needed someone to say out loud. Because the same is true in leadership. Most of us don’t need more power or intensity — we need better muscle memory. We need to build rhythms, stay balanced, and focus on the shots that matter most.

The Tool: Tempo Balance Focus

This tool helps you lead with consistency — not just intensity.

Tempo – Is your work sustainable, rhythmic, and repeatable? Do your daily and weekly patterns help you stay healthy and effective — or are you sprinting toward burnout?
Balance – Are your key relationships in sync, or are they being sidelined while you chase the next win?
Focus – Are you keeping the main things the main things — or are you getting distracted by noise?

It’s not about one big swing. It’s about practicing the fundamentals every day so your leadership holds up under pressure.

Why This Matters Now

When you ignore tempo, your team burns out. When balance slips, the relationships that matter most begin to fray. And when you lose focus, you end up busy but not effective. Eventually, the people around you feel the effects — and start losing trust.

You don’t want to be the leader who’s out there taking big swings with no strategy — and wondering why no one’s following.

The Result

But when you develop the muscle memory of healthy leadership — when your rhythms are sustainable, your relationships are protected, and your priorities are clear — you become the kind of leader people trust, follow, and want to become.

You lead with presence. You perform under pressure. And your team gets better because of it.

Take Action

Here’s how to take action to grow your leadership this week:

1. Reflect on your leadership swing — Ask yourself:

What needs to change in my weekly rhythm?
Who needs more time or attention from me this week?
What’s the “main thing” I need to refocus on?

2. Book a free strategy session – Want to build better leadership habits that actually last? We’ll help you apply this tool to real challenges you’re facing right now.

Closing the Loop

Watching my son work on the short game reminded me: leadership is built in the small, consistent reps — not the highlight reel moments. You can’t wing it and expect to win.

Lead hard.

Are you practicing the wrong things?