The cost of inaction in leadership
Inspired by the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3 – Karma Yoga
Leadership rarely breaks in a crisis. It breaks in comfort.
Not when things go wrong, but when things start running fine, and we quietly step back thinking the team will handle it.
That’s how ownership fades – one skipped review, one delayed feedback, one “they’ve got this” at a time.
The slow fade
Most teams don’t fall apart suddenly. They just lose rhythm.
It starts small with one skipped meeting, one delayed follow-up, one “I’ll get to it tomorrow.”
No one notices at first. But over time, energy dips, priorities blur, and people begin to wait instead of act.
I’ve caught myself doing the same, assuming things will run fine without my follow-up, only to realise later that silence isn’t progress.
That’s how inaction spreads quietly, almost invisibly.
Action is what keeps the system alive. When leaders stop doing, even briefly, the system slows with them.
The modern battlefield
Today’s workplaces reward busyness. Success is often measured by how full our calendars look, not by what actually moves forward.
We get pulled into strategy decks, stakeholder calls, and endless approvals while the simple act of doing what matters, regularly starts slipping away.
Doing isn’t about micromanaging. It’s about staying visible enough that the work still feels led.
The two extremes
Overdoing: You jump in because it’s faster. The work moves, but ownership disappears.
Underdoing: You delegate and disconnect. The intent is trust, but the signal received is absence.
Real balance sits between the two – guide enough to keep direction but stay close enough to show commitment.
When leadership turns into distance
A few weeks ago, my wife who also leads a large team said something that stayed with me.
“My team is self-managed now. They don’t need me much anymore.”
It’s true. She’s built a capable, independent group. But every now and then, she still gets pulled in to manage an escalation, something that could have been caught much earlier.
It’s not about her team’s ability. It’s about how easy it is, even for seasoned leaders, to develop blind spots once they stop looking closely.
The moment you stop observing how the system works, small cracks start to grow quietly.
I notice the same pattern at home.
My daughter prefers to study on her own, and we encourage that believing it builds independence. We keep reminding her to stay focused, but rarely sit with her or check what she’s actually doing.
We tell ourselves we’re giving her freedom, not pressure. But that’s just the other extreme empowerment without presence.
She’s smart, curious, and like most of us, easily distracted. When we stop showing up, she quietly drifts.
What we call independence, whether at home or at work, still needs attention.
Empowerment works best when presence doesn’t fade with it.
Doing what sustains
Leaders don’t hold teams together through authority; they do it through consistency.
The smallest actions, a quick check-in, a timely decision, a note of recognition remind people that the work matters.
You can’t outsource presence.
Once the team feels you’ve stepped back; they stop stepping up..
Behaviors that keep teams moving
Here’s where the Gita is practical, and surprisingly modern.
1. Show up when things are calm.
It’s easy to be visible in a crisis. What defines you is how you show up when things are steady.
Culture is built in quiet weeks, not review weeks. Your consistency in the ordinary makes the extraordinary possible.
2. Stay curious about what’s working, and what isn’t.
The strongest teams often hide the earliest warning signs. Don’t assume silence means alignment.
A few open-ended questions each week, “What’s blocking us?” or “What could we be doing better?” reveal far more than any dashboard.
3. Close loops.
When you promise feedback, give it. When you commit to a decision, stay with it till it lands.
Closed loops build trust faster than any talk on accountability. They signal reliability.
5. Balance support with stretch.
Be available without being everywhere. Ask yourself: Am I guiding or guarding?
Your presence should help people grow, not make them dependent. Growth needs both safety and challenge.
6. Hold your own standards.
Don’t expect what you no longer model. Preparation, clarity, punctuality – your team mirrors these more than your instructions.
When you lower your standards quietly, everyone else follows loudly.
The bigger lesson
The Gita’s reminder still holds:
“Perform your duty, for action is better than inaction.” (3.8)
In leadership, that duty is to keep doing not out of pressure, but out of purpose.
Action keeps belief alive.
When leaders pause too long, teams don’t lose skill – they lose direction.
Before saying, “They’re not proactive,” ask, “What have I stopped doing that once made them care?”
My Arjuna moment
Each of us has one – when we mistake stepping back for giving space.
Mine came not in a crisis, but in comfort.
There have been instances where everything seemed to run fine, and I began to assume it always would.
I stopped showing up, thinking I was empowering others, but what I was really doing was drifting into quiet inaction.
That’s when I understood what Krishna meant, that action isn’t about control, it’s about care.
You don’t have to do everything, but you have to stay present.
Because whether it’s a team, a child, or a relationship – everything drifts when attention does.
Written by Vibhor Jain © 2025 | Originally published at mindspringlife.com