Busy Up or Busy Down: You're in Charge of Your Own Career
"You need to act like the career you want, not the job you have."
That phrase came to mind when I was working with my friend and colleague Diane Abbonizioof United Bay Community Credit Union®. We were discussing a potential role play scenario for a leadership development program involving an employee who is frustrated because they weren’t seeing opportunities for advancement.
The problem wasn’t a lack of work ethic. They were busy all the time. The real question was: Busy doing what?
The Busy Trap
It’s easy to confuse activity with progress. Many people pride themselves on being busy — calendars full, inboxes overflowing, constantly putting out fires. It feels productive. It feels important.
But the truth is being busy isn’t the same as moving forward.
Some people are stuck in the Busy Trap, doing work that keeps them comfortable but not capable. They’re answering every email, jumping into every issue, and solving every problem… often the ones their team should be handling. It’s work that keeps them visible in the moment but invisible when opportunities for advancement come around.
If you spend all your energy doing tasks that maintain the present, you leave no time to design your future. You become the go-to person for getting things done, not the go-to person for vision, growth, or leadership.
That’s what I mean by being “busy down.” It’s reactive, not proactive. It’s staying busy with the familiar instead of stretching into the unknown.
You’re not being overlooked. You’re overlooking yourself.
Busy Down vs. Busy Up
You can be “busy” doing low-level, reactive work (busy down), or you can direct your energy toward leadership-level, strategic work (busy up).
Busy Down is when you’re always reacting — fixing, solving, and firefighting. It’s the constant hum of activity that keeps you feeling valuable but often limits your visibility and growth. You’re operating as the problem-solver instead of the problem-preventer.
Busy Up, on the other hand, is about investing time where it counts — mentoring your team, developing new ideas, improving processes, and aligning your work with the organization’s larger goals. It’s less about checking boxes and more about creating direction.
Being Busy Up means thinking like a leader before you’re ever given the title. It’s moving from a contributor mindset to an enterprise mindset — seeing how your work impacts the whole organization, not just your corner of it.
That’s the kind of mindset we teach in The Cohesive Leader program by preparing individuals to lead from where they are, not just where they hope to be.
Let Go to Grow
My friend and collaborator Ben-Jamin Toy, HSG recently wrote about something he calls Lawnmower Leadership. Similar to lawnmower parenting, it’s the habit of clearing every obstacle for your team instead of letting them struggle, learn, and grow.
In the example above from my conversation with Diane, the employee was constantly busy doing all kinds of work. The question really became if they were busy with work that individuals who report to them could do? Were they always just solving other people's problems?
If you’re always the one doing, you may actually be holding yourself back and keeping others from developing too. Letting go is not losing control; it’s leading with intention. That’s the teachable moment we will reinforce during the role play debrief.
Look Forward, Not Backward
I like to remind people:
“You cannot be the victor of your future if you’re held captive by your past.”
If you’re always looking backward, replaying old frustrations or past failures, you’re giving those moments power over your growth.
It’s not your supervisor holding you back. It’s not your organization. More often than not, it’s you standing in your own way.
This isn’t meant to be a message of blame. It's one of empowerment. You are in charge of your own career.
This week, take a moment to ask yourself:
Am I busy up — building, mentoring, thinking ahead? Or am I busy down — reacting, fixing, and repeating the same cycles?
The answer will tell you exactly where your growth begins.
Ready to get “busy up”?
Whether you’re looking to advance in your current role or pivot to something more meaningful, The Cohesive Leader Academy is your starting point for intentional, purpose-driven growth.
This free trial access gives you a sneak peek inside our leadership development system, designed for professionals who want to lead with clarity, confidence, and credibility.
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For more insight on this topic, please refer to these blog posts:
- Would you take a pay cut?
- BUILD INSTEAD OF TEARING DOWN: A Better Way to Lead
- AI as Your Thinking Partner
Interested in reading more from Dr. Troy Hall? Check out my books available for purchase on Amazon.
