Why Great Leaders Don’t Just Do More — They Make Things Easier

Ask any team what’s slowing them down, and you’ll hear:

• “Too many tools.”
• “Too many steps.”
• “Too many check-ins.”
• “Too much duplication.”
• “Too much waiting.”

It’s not that people don’t care.
It’s that the system gets in their way.

The best teams don’t just work harder.
They simplify.

Great leadership isn’t about doing more — it’s about helping others do what matters with less friction.

That’s where Wednesday’s challenge comes in.

The Challenge — Simplify One Process That’s Slowing the Team Down

🟩 When to Do It
📅 Midweek — during a team sync, work session, or quiet moment of reflection when the week’s friction is visible.

🟩 What to Do
🔍 Step 1: Spot one small but frustrating friction point in how your team operates — a tool, routine, step, or habit that causes confusion or delays.

💡 Step 2: Suggest one way to make it smoother, faster, or easier — without blaming anyone.

💬 Examples:

• “We’re using three places to track updates — can we combine into one doc?”
• “Let’s add a shared deadline column so we know what’s urgent.”
• “Instead of asking for feedback on Slack and email, can we centralise in one channel?”
• “Can we pin post-meeting action steps to reduce confusion?”

The goal isn’t to overhaul.
It’s to unblock.

One friction removed = one lane opened.

Why This Midweek Moment Matters

Wednesday is the perfect time to make a micro-adjustment:

• Enough has happened to reveal the friction
• Enough is left to benefit from the improvement
• It’s midweek momentum — not end-of-week regret

Most teams feel the pain, but no one acts on it.

This challenge helps you be the person who notices and nudges.

Not by demanding change — but by gently offering progress.

The Psychology of Simplicity in Teams

Simplicity isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s a performance multiplier.

🧠 Neuroscience shows that cognitive load — the mental effort required to complete a task — is one of the biggest factors in:

✅ Burnout
✅ Mistakes
✅ Missed deadlines
✅ Poor collaboration

Reducing friction increases energy, clarity, and creativity.

According to Harvard Business Review:

“Employees in simpler workplaces are 30% more likely to feel engaged — and 50% more likely to be high performers.”

When you simplify, you energise.

What Leadership Skills This Builds

✅ Operational awareness – seeing what’s working and what’s not
✅ Process thinking – connecting steps to results
✅ Collaborative improvement – inviting change, not imposing it
✅ Service leadership – helping others by removing blockers
✅ Quiet influence – leading without the spotlight

These are the skills that get noticed — not for being flashy, but for being useful.

Pitfalls to Watch For

🚫 You assume it’s “not your job.”
Process lives in every seat. If you touch it, you can improve it.

🚫 You overcomplicate your suggestion.
The fix doesn’t need a Notion dashboard or a Trello board. One sticky note can shift the flow.

🚫 You try to fix everything.
Don’t make this about a total system overhaul. Pick one point of friction — and offer one improvement.

🚫 You fear you’ll offend someone.
You’re improving the process, not critiquing the person.

🎯 Overcome It By:

• Using inclusive language: “I noticed…” vs. “You always…”
• Framing the suggestion as a test or invitation: “What if we tried…?”
• Making the benefit clear: “This might save us time / reduce rework / help us align faster.”

Friction Hotspots to Look For

If you’re stuck, scan for these signals:

📍 Tool Overload: Are we duplicating work across apps or channels?

📍 Handoff Confusion: Is it unclear who owns what, or when?

📍 Meeting Waste: Are we syncing too often without purpose?

📍 Unclear Priorities: Do people waste time guessing what’s urgent?

📍 Feedback Loops: Is the feedback process scattered or delayed?

📍 Status Updates: Is everyone spending more time updating than doing?

Where there’s repetition, confusion, or waiting — there’s an opportunity to lead.

How to Share Your Suggestion

Try this 3-part script:

1. 🔍 What You Noticed: “I’ve noticed we’re repeating the same status updates in three places.”
2. 💡 What You Propose: “What if we used one shared doc to centralise updates?”
3. 🚀 The Benefit: “I think it could save us 20–30 mins a week and reduce confusion.”

This is how you make a suggestion that gets heard — and helps.

Real-World Use Cases by Role

🔹 Project Teams: Streamline feedback channels or document naming systems.
🔹 Customer Service Teams: Simplify how escalations are flagged.
🔹 Design/Marketing Teams: Reduce tool-switching or feedback loops.
🔹 Tech Teams: Clean up Jira boards, improve bug triage systems.
🔹 Remote Teams: Remove Slack noise, clarify time zone blockers, or reduce asynchronous “loops.”

Every team has a knot.
This challenge helps you loosen it.

Common Questions (FAQ)

❓ “What if I’m not sure what to fix?”
Then ask your teammates: “Is anything slowing us down this week?” That question alone shifts culture.

❓ “What if it’s something small?”
Perfect. Small = sticky. Big ideas get buried. Simple fixes get used.

❓ “What if no one listens to my idea?”
You still showed leadership. Your next suggestion will land stronger. Culture is repetition.

❓ “What if I’m the cause of the slowdown?”
Own it. “I realise my process might be causing friction — here’s how I’d like to improve it.” That earns massive trust.

Scripts to Spark Action in Your Team

💬 “What’s one tiny tweak that could save us time this week?”
💬 “Is there a smoother way to do ___ that we haven’t tried yet?”
💬 “I’m finding ___ a bit clunky — can we try ___?”
💬 “Quick idea: What if we ___ instead of ___ — would that help?”

You don’t need permission to care.
You just need the courage to suggest.

How to Make It a Weekly Habit (Without More Meetings)

1. 💬 Add a “Friction Fix” section to your team retro or check-in.
2. 🧵 Create a #simplify channel on Slack or Teams.
3. 🧠 Ask one question every Wednesday: “Where did we lose energy this week?”

Consistency beats complexity.

Weekly Impact Summary – What This Challenge Changes

When one person simplifies one process:

✅ The team moves faster
✅ Energy is saved
✅ Clarity is increased
✅ Morale improves
✅ Trust grows

And when that happens every week, you build a team that works like it was designed to win.

This challenge isn’t about fixing everything.
It’s about making something easier — today.

Want to Build a Team That Works Smarter — Every Week?

Coach Faisal London creates weekly team leadership challenges that:

✔️ Remove friction
✔️ Increase clarity
✔️ Strengthen how teams work together — not just what they work on

This isn’t theory.
This is behaviour design — delivered in bite-sized actions that shift culture from the inside.

We tailor it for:

✅ Industry
✅ Team structure
✅ Workflow habits
✅ Leadership vision

Because no two teams are the same — and your system shouldn’t be either.

Book Your 15-Min Discovery Call

Let’s talk about your team’s current friction points and build a 12-week system that clears them — while building leaders.

📅 Book your call
🌐 Learn more: bycoachfaisal.co.uk

This is where culture shifts — not in slides, but in shared simplifications.

About Coach Faisal London — Team Leadership that Lives in the Workflow

We don’t create busywork.
We build rhythm.

✔️ 3 micro-challenges per week
✔️ Psychology-backed behaviour design
✔️ Culture built through clarity, care, and consistency

We work with teams who want more than motivation.

They want systems that:
🔹 Build initiative
🔹 Improve collaboration
🔹 Remove friction
🔹 Grow leaders in real time

Because great leadership isn’t loud.
It’s the habit of making things better — for the whole team.