Your Next Clear Move

The Leadership Trap of Overwhelm (and How to Escape It)

• Debbie Peterson of Getting to Clarity

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Overwhelm doesn’t strike because your to-do list is long; it strikes because your focus is scattered. We share a candid story from a confidential acquisition—where the real weight wasn’t the tasks, but the responsibility for people’s jobs and futures—and unpack how that pressure clouds judgment and drives knee-jerk decisions. Then we offer a practical off-ramp: a simple, repeatable way to slow the spin, reclaim your attention, and make the next smart move.

We walk through the Clarity Compass, a framework that anchors tough decisions in purpose and action. North is why—the values and meaning that guide your choices. East is what—defining the real goal and the options that fit your purpose. South is who—enlisting the people who can help, from peers to mentors. West is how—breaking ambition into projects and tasks. At the center is now—one action you’ll take in the next 48 hours. You’ll hear how this approach shifts leaders from constant reaction to intentional progress and why modeling clarity—not hustle—creates healthier, more resilient teams.

You’ll also learn how to spot overwhelm in your people before it derails performance: sudden quiet from a usually upbeat teammate, snappish replies from a calm colleague, or procrastination on simple work. We share meeting prompts and daily habits—like quick brain dumps and short reflection questions—that build a culture where clarity drives action. To cap it off, we give you a two-question reset you can use anytime: What do you want instead, specifically? What’s the next clear move? Try it and feel how fast your energy turns from scattered to focused.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a leader who needs a reset, and leave a quick review to help others find these tools. Then tell us: what’s your next clear move today?

Speaker 00:

Hey, hello, and welcome back. I am Debbie Peterson of Getting to Clarity, and this is another episode of the Getting to Clarity Podcast. This is the place where you come to find your next clear move in your career, your leadership, your business, and without sacrificing yourself in the process. And today we're talking about overwhelm. But it's a trap of overwhelm that leaders often fall into. So want to chat about that and how you can escape it. So stay tuned. Welcome to the Getting to Clarity Podcast.

Speaker 01:

The place where busy leaders discover how to create more success in their leadership journey with less sacrifice in their life.

Speaker 02:

Here's your host, Debbie Peterson of Getting to Clarity.

Speaker 00:

So the trap of overwhelm for leaders, what am I talking about? What does this mean? Well, I can remember most vividly being completely and totally overwhelmed. And it was during an acquisition for a company that I worked for, and I worked closely with the executive team. And we were a publicly traded company. So the information about the acquisition was highly confidential. And because I worked at the executive level or for the executives at that level, I carried the weight of knowing that secret while still doing my day-to-day job, holding conversations with friends and colleagues who had no idea it was coming. And that was a lot of pressure. And it wasn't just about the tasks, it wasn't just about the doing. It was about the pressure of people's lives, jobs, futures. And that uncertainty created a lot of chaos. And even though I didn't see it at the time, what I was experiencing really wasn't about having too much to do. It was about not knowing what mattered most. And I couldn't at that particular point. So that's what lack of clarity does. It keeps us spinning our wheels and reacting to everything. So years later, I realized that overwhelm isn't about volume, it's about focus. And when I got that, things really started to change. And it helped me to understand that I had so much more influence than I thought I did over the overwhelm. You know, maybe I can't completely eradicate it, but I can do something about it. And that's what clarity allows you to do, to discern what really matters and take action where it counts. And that is a choice that every leader can make. So why this is important? Well, when leaders operate in we'll call a mode of overwhelm, they deplete themselves. Okay. And then what happens is that they model that depletion for uh almost as a strategy to their teams. And that overwhelm bleeds into personal life. And it happens with short tempers, being frustrated with people, and reacting and not considering your reaction. So the risk that goes with overwhelm can be enormous because we're talking about uh burnout, we're talking about stalling momentum stalling, we're talking about making poor choices and even catastrophic decisions. You know, I've been there too. I in another role, I watched two executives make choices in the midst of overwhelm that exposed our company to liability, to um jobs, costing jobs, and ultimately led to an acquisition by a competitor. And those decisions rippled through the organization. It affected careers, families, and futures. So overwhelm is a big deal. Um, it clouds judgment, but clarity clears it. So let's talk about clarity versus overwhelm for a moment. So clarity in leadership is about the ability to cut through the noise, um, to kind of separate, be able to dive through all of the distractions and to create a bit of space to focus on what matters, to intentionally take that time. It allows you to decide, it allows you to delegate, um, it allows you to say, not yet, um, based on what really matters. And if you're talking about decisions for yourself, then based on your values and what your goal or your intentions are. So clarity puts you in a proactive frame of mind. Overwhelm, on the other hand, is a reaction to noise. It takes in that noise instead of separating from it so you can think clearly. And it is the endless cycle of just doing, doing, doing. And you're not discerning what really matters. You're chasing everything without knowing why. And what happens is you tend to confuse busyness with progress, and that's not. So I want to give you some tools to move from overwhelm to clarity, because that's what I love to do. And uh, this is the Clarity Compass. It's a framework that I use and I teach. You may have heard of it before, but it helps in so many different situations. It helps leaders move from spinning, you know, being in that reaction mode to taking very intentional action. And once you know how to use it, you can apply it anywhere in your career, your leadership, with your team, in your department, even in your personal life. So when overwhelm hits, the clarity compass can point out what matters. It can lead you back to what matters, it can get you back to that place of uh being centered and aligned. So if you picture a compass in your hand, uh in the north position is why. And why reminds you of why what you're doing, what you're pursuing, even matters. So if you're looking at a career decision, why do you do what you do? So making a a next move in your career really needs to align with why your work is meaningful, what your values are, and who you are and what's most important to you. So, you know, that needs to be a benchmark. It needs to be something that you check in with to make sure that you're making good decisions. In the ease position is what and what sharpens the focus on the real goal, you know. Once you consider um the direction that you're going, uh what are some of the ways that it can happen? Um, and this is about brainstorming or ideating with your why in mind. Uh, in the uh South position is who. And this reminds you that you're not alone. You don't have to figure this out by yourself. Who are the people that can help you personally and professionally? And how is in the West position. It gets you moving with strategy. You take the big goal and you chunk it down into smaller pieces at each level until you get to the point where you've got tasks or you've got projects, and that gives you a roadmap. It lets you know what it is that you can do instead of holding this vague and ambiguous goal in your head. So um now is in the center of the compass, and that helps to create momentum. What are you gonna do now? And and what I charge my clients and my audiences with is what are you gonna do in the next 48 hours? So it gets you into action right away. And this is a repeatable process that helps you to find direction when you're stuck. So what do you get when you use the clarity compass? Well, you get clarity, okay? But you also get your next clear move. And your next clear move isn't about having all of the steps, it is about having your next step because that's what gets you into action. So overwhelm paralyzes us because we think we need to know every step, and you don't. You just need the next step, which is your next clear move. Naming it is what gets you unstuck and back into motion. So, how do you take all of this and apply it? So for me, moving from overwhelm into clarity started with pausing, making that space, right? Asking what's important right now. Seriously, what is important right now? And that single question, that shift, creates space to think and to act and to lead differently. So leaders who learn to pause, who learn to prioritize, and to be able to process what is going on, including their emotions, not only protect themselves from burnout, but they also lead their teams with greater stability. And they model something totally different than depletion. You know, they model that clarity and the ability to have impact and influence over your career, your leadership, your business. What's next? So, how do you use this? Whenever I give you a tool, I want you to use it for yourself, but I also want you to use it with your teams. So, how do you use this with your teams? So, spotting overwhelm is really important. That means that you are paying attention and paying attention to things like shifts in personality. And what does that mean? Well, let's dive into that. Do you have someone on your team who is who is happy, who is positive, and then all of a sudden maybe they go a little bit quiet. Mmm, well, that's a difference in personality. How about uh somebody who is usually very calm and now they start snapping at people? That's a change. Uh, overwhelm shows up in behavior if you're willing to notice. So pay attention to that. Also, for your team, guiding them back to clarity. Take your team through the clarity compass framework that I took you through earlier and ask what matters most right now? What options exist? Who can help? How will you get into action? And what step are you going to take now? So shifting this energy takes you from spinning into moving with intention. Also, normalizing clarity processes, getting clarity as part of your daily routine, using brain dumps, getting everything out of your head so that you can sift and sort through it to know what matters, what can be delayed, what you know, what you need to do and what can be deleted, um, how to prioritize things, or simple reflection questions in meetings. Uh, what is the focus right now? What do we learn from this? They're so valuable in giving you clarity of direction. These sort of questions and this sort of clarity creates a culture where it is clarity driving the action instead of chaos and reaction. So here's an exercise from overwhelm to clarity. Very simple. It's a quick two-question exercise you can use the next time you feel overwhelmed. Number one, what do you want instead? And it's not, I don't want to be overwhelmed, but it is um specifically, what does not being overwhelmed look like here? I mean, specifically, get granular. What does clarity look like here? Second question, what's the next clear move? Okay. So once you've defined uh an action, okay, that I'm overwhelmed. This is what not being overwhelmed would look like specifically. Like pick one piece, and that's your next clear move. That is the action that's going to move you towards what it is that you want. And that simple shift reorients your brain. And what it does is it gets you from looking backward to looking forward. It gets you unstuck almost without even realizing it. So, what is your next clear move? Overwhelm doesn't have to be at the cost of your leadership. The truth is, when you pause long enough to create clarity, you reclaim your ability to choose. And you stop reacting to everything and start responding to what matters. So that's the shift that keeps you steady. It protects your team and it builds the kind of leadership that people want to follow. So your next clear move is simple. Notice where overwhelm is creeping in. Name what clarity looks like instead, and then take one step, one small step in that direction today. So I have loved being with you here today. Thank you so much for joining me. And for more resources, head on over to www.debipetersonspeaks.com. Take care, be good to yourself, and bye-bye for now.

Speaker 02:

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Getting to Clarity Podcast with Debbie Peterson.

Speaker 01:

If you enjoyed the show, please rate and recommend it on iTunes or wherever you enjoy your podcast.

Speaker 02:

To learn more about how you can bring Debbie and her transformational clarity leadership strategies to your organization, visit Debbie PetersonSpeaks.com.

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Debbie Peterson, CSP

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