Reactionary Leadership: The Hidden Cost of Constant Interruption

By Monnica Manuel | RSG Performance

As a coach, I often remind leaders that one of the greatest gifts they can offer their teams is clarity: of goals, expectations, and most importantly, attention. But in too many organizations, I’ve noticed a recurring pattern that quietly erodes performance: reactionary leadership.

You’ve probably seen it. A leader repeatedly asks for updates with little warning. Team members scramble to respond. Deadlines shift. Priorities are reshuffled. All in the name of preparing for “something important” like an executive meeting, a board presentation, a fire drill that could’ve been avoided with a little forethought.

When this becomes a pattern, not an exception, it creates a subtle but powerful drag on organizational performance.

The Hidden Toll of Constant Interruptions

Every time a leader pulls their team out of flow for an unplanned “quick check-in,” they’re breaking more than focus, they’re signaling uncertainty. And that uncertainty becomes contagious.

This isn’t just an efficiency issue; it’s neurological.

In Session Two of our Resilient Leadership program, we explore the science of attention. What we’ve learned is that human attention operates in two modes:

• Voluntary Attention is intentional. It’s what we use when we choose to focus on a task, a goal, or a conversation.

• Automatic Attention is reactive. It’s triggered by unexpected noises, threats, or urgent demands, like a text, or a Slack/Teams message that derails your day.

Leaders who operate from a place of Automatic Attention (jumping from issue to issue, pinging teams without context) train their teams to do the same. This creates an organizational Default Mode Network: a state of mental wandering, reduced productivity, and heightened stress.

Uncertainty Is the Enemy of Performance

When leaders lack preparation, especially for high-stakes events like board meetings or investor updates, they often overcompensate by demanding last-minute data, rehashing decisions, or pushing vague goals. This creates uncertainty.

And here’s the truth: Uncertainty degrades performance. It eats away at psychological safety. It diverts cognitive resources. It pulls people out of their zone of productive stress (eustress) and into distress. The type of stress that leads to burnout, disengagement, and error-prone work.

Yerkes-Dodson Law is a psychological model that explains the relationship between stress (or arousal) and performance. It shows how both eustress and distress affect your ability to perform tasks.

Attention Is a Superpower - If You Use It Well

Dr. Amishi Jha calls attention a superpower. It allows leaders to “slow down time,” anticipate outcomes, and show up with clarity and presence. But like any superpower, it has a kryptonite: poor mood, stress, and perceived threat.

In reactionary environments, everything becomes sticky. A small comment in a meeting loops in someone’s head for days. An ambiguous request becomes a source of anxiety. These are not signs of weak employees, they’re symptoms of poor leadership hygiene.

The Discipline of Preparation

Not all interruptions are bad. Sometimes, a pivot is necessary. But when “blocking and tackling” becomes a leadership style, it’s not agility, it’s avoidance. It suggests a lack of systems, foresight, and respect for the team’s time and cognitive energy.

At RSG, we coach leaders to clear the way, to reduce noise, not add to it. To be intentional, not impulsive. To prepare thoroughly, so their teams can perform freely.

Because when leaders lead with clarity and composure, they free their teams to stay in flow, focus on what matters, and bring their best to the moment.

And that’s how you build a resilient organization, not just one that survives, but one that thrives.