Maxed Out? How to Build Leadership Capacity That Scales
- Rick Slark
- Sep 29
- 4 min read
Your calendar is jammed. Your inbox is overflowing. Every decision, every problem, every new responsibility finds its way to you — because you’re the owner. But here’s the truth: you’ve hit the wall. There’s nothing left to give, and yet the demands keep coming.
That breaking point is what I call the crisis of leadership capacity. It doesn’t get fixed by working harder or grinding longer. It gets fixed by creating margin for yourself and building the team that can carry the business forward. And it starts with one simple but powerful tool: the Five Boxes.
Why Leadership Capacity Matters
Leadership capacity isn’t about talent or charisma. It’s about having the space to lead, to think strategically, to be creative. When you’re buried under responsibilities that don’t belong to you, your ability to guide the business suffers.
And make no mistake — the cost is real.
Capacity drain: strategy and vision get your leftovers.
Decision bottlenecks: everything slows when it must route through you.
Team disempowerment: people stop stepping up when you keep holding on.
Stalled growth: what got you here won’t get you there.
Burnout and frustration: eventually, the joy of leading is replaced by exhaustion.
If you’ve ever wondered why your days feel jammed but progress feels slow, role creep is usually the culprit. Tasks creep onto your plate silently until the work only you can do is drowned out by the work anyone could do.
The Five Boxes Framework
The first step to reclaiming leadership capacity is brutally simple: sort your responsibilities. Every task, every decision, every “to-do” lives in one of five boxes.
1. Keep (Core Work)
What is mine to do right now?
This is the work only you can do.
It aligns directly with your role and responsibility.
It deserves your best time and attention.
2. Delegate Now
Who else can handle this today?
Immediate opportunities to free space.
Tasks don’t need perfection — they need clarity.
3. Delegate Later (Develop)
Who could own this if I trained or coached them?
Seeds of future leadership.
Develop others through training, mentoring, or shadowing.
4. Dispose Of
What simply needs to stop?
Adds no value, duplicates effort, or exists only by habit.
Michael Porter was right: “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”
5. Other (for managers with a boss)
What landed on my plate but doesn’t belong here?
Work added by a boss or leadership that falls outside your role.
These are the starting points for accountability conversations.
“Each box matters. When you decide what to keep, you clarify your true role. When you delegate now, you develop someone else. When you plan to delegate later, you start shaping tomorrow’s leaders. When you dispose of tasks, you free energy for higher-value work. And when you clarify ‘Other,’ you build structure and accountability.” — Rick Slark
Reflection: Where Is Your Work Sitting?
Once you’ve sorted, take a step back and reflect:
How much of your time is stuck in Keep versus scattered in Other?
Which box was the hardest to fill?
Which box reveals your biggest growth opportunity?
These aren’t just questions on paper — they’re a mirror for your leadership reality.
From Boxes to Action: The 30/60/90 Plan
Clarity without action is just another list. That’s why the next step is moving from boxes to execution using a simple 30/60/90-day framework.
30 Days (Immediate)
Delegate 1–2 tasks from your Delegate Now list.
Have one key conversation about something in Other.
60 Days (Near-Term)
Begin developing someone for a Delegate Later responsibility.
Revisit a Dispose Of item and cut it.
90 Days (Longer Horizon)
Move a Delegate Later task fully off your plate.
Reassess your boxes — what shifted, and where do you still need clarity?
Implementation is where leadership gets real. No plan survives exactly as written, but progress compounds when you commit to taking small, consistent steps.
Step Two: Build the Team
Freeing your capacity is only the first half of the equation. The second is developing your team so the business doesn’t depend solely on you.
Delegate Now gives team members responsibility today.
Delegate Later develops future leaders.
Other forces conversations that clarify structure.
Every time you move something from your plate to someone else’s, you aren’t just offloading work — you’re multiplying leadership in the organization.
That’s how a business becomes scalable.
The Payoff
Owners often fear stepping back, but the opposite is true: when you reclaim your leadership capacity, the business gains momentum.
You shift from operator to strategist.
Your team stops waiting on you and starts owning outcomes.
The company stops stalling at your limits and starts moving forward on its own strength.
Leadership capacity isn’t about doing more. It’s about creating the margin to do the work only you can do — while building a team capable of doing the rest.
Next Step
If you’re maxed out and ready to reclaim your leadership capacity, let’s talk. I help growth-stage owners implement the Five Boxes, build breathing room, and develop teams that can drive the business forward.
