Coffee Chat Take 7: It’s Time to Lead From Capacity, Not Pressure

Welcome to another Coffee Chat Take! A bite-sized episode designed to feel like a quick voice note from a friend.

This episode is a reflection on what happens when capable leaders know the right decisions to make, but don’t have the capacity to make them well. Shannon explores how operating at full capacity for too long can quietly distort decision-making and create exhaustion, even when nothing feels “on fire.”

Rather than pushing through or questioning your discipline, this conversation reframes capacity as a leadership consideration. When you slow down enough to ask what a decision actually requires from you emotionally, energetically, and practically, clarity becomes more accessible. Resistance, in this context, isn’t failure. It’s feedback.

This Coffee Chat Take centers on leading from steadiness instead of pressure and choosing decisions that respect your current capacity, especially in seasons where life already carries weight beyond what shows up on your calendar.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• How operating at full capacity impacts decision-making over time
• What capacity-aware leadership looks like in real life
• Why resistance can be useful information, not a personal flaw

Leave a Rating and Review: https://ratethispodcast.com/mindyourtime

Let’s Stay Connected

Follow @mindyourtimepodcast and @the_shannonbaker on Instagram for conversations about boundaries, systems, and building a business that leaves room for your life.

📩 Want Personalized Support?

Reach out at info@theshannonbaker.com to explore your next best step.

Chapters

• 0:02 The Cost Of Operating At Max
• 1:13 Pause, Boundaries, And Clarity
• 1:39 What Capacity-Aware Leadership Means
• 2:34 Shift The Question: Requirements First
• 3:40 Resistance As Useful Feedback
• 5:31 Choose Less To Lead Better
• 7:10 Steadiness Over Pressure

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:02

Lately, I've heard one too many conversations where someone says they know what needs to be done, but they don't have the capacity to do whatever it is the way that it should be done. And I hear this most often when it's something people know would help. Things would create stability in their business or even make it operate more efficiently, but it still feels out of reach because everything depends on them. When you're operating at full capacity for an extended period of time, decision making often becomes delayed or even distorted. And when you operate at maximum capacity for an extended period of time, frankly, that can be exhausting. And I feel exhausted myself when I hear these types of responses. It's really sad to know that so many capable leaders are walking around with the right decisions not being made because they're just stretched too thin. They're trying to make decisions based on logic when they don't have the clarity that they need to make informed decisions because they're always on the go. That's why in January on the podcast, we talked about taking time to pause, pausing long enough to notice how fast we've been moving the months before, what that speed is actually costing us, and then start to talk about how you can reset boundaries so that you can move forward this year at a pace that respects your capacity. So now in February, we're going to talk more about how you can lead based on that capacity. Now, this may sound a little unfamiliar at first, but I want you to stay with me. You see, capacity is aware decision making, and it's not about you lowering your standards or even shrinking or minimizing your vision. It's about telling the truth about what you can reasonably do without overbooking or overextending yourself. And I know that can feel uncomfortable, especially if you're used to pushing through when there's too much on your plate, and definitely if you're a people pleaser. But this is especially true if your identity has been shaped around you being the one who always figures things out for everyone, who holds everything together and who keeps things moving at all costs. But leadership changes when you stop asking, can I do this? And start asking, what will this require from me? See, when you slow down long enough to notice, what does this decision require from you emotionally? What does it require energetically? How much attention and time is it going to require from you? And when you need to think about the one question that often gets ignored, ask yourself if you actually have all of that to give right now. See, many people interpret that question as a sign that they're failing or they're falling behind, but that's really not the case. This thought process is discernment. Capacity-aware decisions tend to look slower to everyone on the outside. There's less urgency, fewer dramatic pivots, more controlled movement, but behind the scenes, there's more steadiness, less second-guessing, less resentment toward the very things in people that you said yes to. Now, sometimes resistance, it's not fear and it's not even avoidance, it's feedback. You might intellectually like the idea, and on paper, it may make sense. It could be aligned with your goals, your growth, or what you thought you wanted to do next. So you assume that the excitement should automatically follow that. But if it fills off, it's because your body is noticing something else. That resistance is your system telling you the timing is off, the pace is too fast, or the way the decision would need to be carried out is going to cost more than you currently have to give. So when the line says not yet, it's time to do something else. When it says not like this, it points to structure or expectation. Neither means no forever, neither means you're not capable, and neither means that you're sabotaging yourself. It just means that your system, your nervous system, is protecting your capacity before your mind has caught up with it. Calling it information instead of a flaw reframes that experience for you. So instead of pushing past the resistance or judging yourself for it, you can get curious about what that resistance is actually telling you. Is it asking for more space, more support, fewer moving pieces, or a slower entry? This is a part of capacity aware leadership. You are not letting discomfort make the decision for you, but you also are not ignoring it. You're listening long enough to decide wisely. And there is a version of leadership. This is a version of leadership that doesn't require you to overextend yourself to be successful. This listens closely to signals like fatigue, distraction, irritability, avoidance. And it's not judgmental, but it's to understand what they're pointing to. Sometimes the most stabilizing move that you can make is to decide to do less, choose fewer things more intentionally, to pass on some ideas and opportunities, not because they're bad, but because the timing is just not right. And this is especially true in seasons when your life is already full, when you're supporting others, managing transitions, carrying emotional weight that doesn't show up on your calendar. Capacity does not live in your schedule. When you feel steady, decisions, they're clear. When you're overloaded, everything feels urgent and important at the same time. See, capacity of aware leadership is different. It starts by acknowledging where you actually are, not where you think you should be by now. It's choosing to lead from steadiness instead of pressure, whether it's internal or external. And by the way, I'm gonna repeat this a lot of that pressure is what we put on ourselves. It's internal. You are allowed to make decisions that protect your energy and respect your capacity. You are allowed to choose options that are sustainable, even if they're less impressive on paper. That is not a retreat from leadership, but it's returning to it. So as you move through the next month, you don't need to solve anything today. I want you to just get some clarity. Notice what decisions feel supportive, which ones feel like they'll require you to brace yourself depending on the plate that you drop, because that difference matters. Sometimes the most responsible thing you can do is to slow down enough to get a good feel for your capacity before you commit to something else. And that is where steadier leadership begins.