Busyness, Abstraction, and the Quiet Disappearance of People

Busyness is one of the biggest challenges leaders face today. We are always on. Our technology enables it. And the pressures of the job demand it.

There’s always something else to do. Another project to complete. Another crisis to handle. Another problem to solve.

We are overwhelmed with data. Now, data is wonderful—and no leader should ignore it. It’s a well-known cliché in sports that you are what the numbers say you are, and that principle applies in business as well. Leaders need robust, reliable data on the important aspects of their work. You should know where you are excelling and where you are falling behind. You should use data to inform decisions and to shape the future of your organization. To ignore the numbers would be to abdicate a major part of your responsibility as a leader.

But all this technology and data also make it easier to overlook the most important aspect of our business—the people. Our people. And that’s where the biggest danger lies.

After all, who is it that we lead?

We don’t lead problems.
We don’t lead numbers.
We lead people.

What Is Abstraction?

Simon Sinek writes about the dangers of abstraction in his excellent book Leaders Eat Last. But what exactly is abstraction?

Merriam-Webster defines abstract as “relating to or involving general ideas or qualities rather than an actual object, person, etc.” Since leadership is fundamentally a people business, we might define abstraction this way: paying more attention to ideas, systems, or outcomes than to the actual people affected by them.

In leadership, abstraction happens when efficiency, scale, or results begin to matter more than the humans those results impact.

I understand how leaders fall into this trap. I’ll admit it—I’m something of a wannabe intellectual. I love ideas, concepts, theories, and principles. I enjoy writing this blog each week and thinking deeply about leadership. But when I’m leading, I can’t afford to get so lost in the world of ideas that I lose sight of my people.

Sinek cautions that leaders are sometimes tempted to see people as numbers instead of individuals. That temptation grows stronger as organizations grow. It’s almost the opposite of the old “can’t see the forest for the trees” problem. When you’re leading at scale, you can become so consumed with tending the forest that you lose the ability—or the time—to focus on individual trees.

The Balancing Act

I was recently at a meeting of municipal leaders from across Mississippi and received a strong reminder of just how difficult this balance can be.

The mayors, aldermen, and officials in the room are busy people. Governing is a serious responsibility. It requires leaders to juggle dozens of issues and make decisions that affect entire communities, day in and day out. That alone demands enormous time and attention.

And then there are the constituents.

These leaders are responsible for serving all the people in their communities, not just one individual or special interest. They must act in the best interest of the whole. That’s the job. They would be negligent if they consistently prioritized individual needs over the common good.

But here’s the tension: the whole is made up of individuals.

This challenge isn’t unique to civic leadership. It shows up anywhere leaders are responsible for many and accountable to all. Leaders cannot afford to become numb to how their decisions affect real people.

To illustrate the danger of abstraction taken to its extreme, Sinek quotes Joseph Stalin, the brutal Soviet dictator responsible for the deaths of millions. Stalin reportedly said, “The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.”

That quote is chilling—and instructive.

As leaders, the moment people become statistics or data points, we are standing on a slippery slope toward inhuman leadership.

Staying Connected

Most leaders have no trouble focusing on the forest. There will always be enterprise-wide concerns ready to fill your calendar.

It’s much more likely that you’ll struggle to focus on the trees.

So how can leaders stay connected to individuals who so easily become invisible within the crowd?

Here are a few practical ways.

Prioritize Your People.
Here’s the thing about people—they’re important even when they’re not urgent. Put them on your calendar. If your calendar is so full of meetings and obligations that there’s no time left to be present with your people, it’s time to reevaluate.

Walk Slowly Through the Crowd.
Don’t avoid your people. Yes, some conversations take longer than you’d like. Some people always have “helpful” but impractical suggestions. (I say this as both a leadership thinker and a long-time leadership practitioner.) Engage anyway. Go where your people are. Be intentional about running into them.

Get to Know Them Personally.
Learn about their lives. Are they married? Do they have kids? What are their names? Cat person or dog person? Introvert or extrovert? What matters to them? You don’t need to learn everything at once—it’s not an interrogation. Just be curious. Over time, remembering and referencing what you’ve learned builds trust and connection.

Bring Your Whole Self to Work.
You’re not a work robot. Don’t let your people think you are. Within reason—and always with professionalism—let your humanity show. And don’t expect your people to be robots either.

Socialize.
Make occasional efforts to spend time with your people outside of strictly transactional settings. Informal connection strengthens relationships and often reveals new reasons to respect and appreciate one another.

And here’s a bonus tip—not about the people you lead, but the people you serve:

Reconnect With Your Customers.
Customers aren’t just recipients of your work; they’re people whose lives are affected by how well you lead. Reconnecting with them reminds you of your purpose. And purpose provides fuel when leadership gets hard.

Final Thoughts

For leaders, busyness comes with the territory. You’re never going to escape it. Problems, projects, and issues will always expand to fill your calendar.

Unless you’re intentional, people will slowly get pushed to the margins.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting you ignore the “things” part of leadership. That’s not realistic—or responsible. But be aware of this reality: things naturally surge to the foreground, while people quietly fade into the background.

You’ll never have to go looking for things to occupy your time as a leader. You will sometimes have to go looking for your people.

The best leaders never forget that leadership is ultimately a human endeavor—and humans are never abstractions.