The Leadership Skill Most Teams Need Right Now: Efficiency
May 31, 2026
Over a decade ago, I established what I call the Four E's for our organization:
Excellence. Efficiency. Effectiveness. Entrepreneurship.
Those pillars don't change.
What does change is our ability to get better at them every year.
Recently, I had an interesting conversation that made me stop and think. A team member expressed frustration about my focus on efficiency. Their perception was that efficiency simply meant squeezing more work out of people. In other words, "Amy wants us to become more efficient so we can do even more."
I'll be honest, that shocked me, because it couldn’t be further from my intent. If people are efficient, they can get more done in less time and go home to be with their families as opposed to staying late.
My concern wasn’t that they challenged the idea, but because it highlighted how often efficiency gets misunderstood.
Efficiency is not about making people work harder. It's about helping people work smarter. There's a big difference.
The Efficiency Trap
When many people hear the word "efficiency," they immediately picture longer to-do lists, tighter deadlines, and leaders constantly asking, "What else can we get done?"
That's not efficiency. That's overload.
True efficiency removes friction. It eliminates wasted motion. It streamlines processes. It helps people spend less time fighting systems and more time creating value.
Think about it this way. If a pilot can reduce fuel consumption while reaching the same destination, that's efficiency.
If a surgeon can perform a procedure with fewer complications and faster recovery, that's efficiency.
If a teacher can spend less time on paperwork and more time helping students learn, that's efficiency.
None of those examples involve working harder. They involve creating more capacity.
Capacity Creates Effectiveness
Here's where leaders often miss the connection.
Efficiency is not the end goal. Effectiveness is.
When we become more efficient, we create capacity. When we create capacity, we can focus our energy on the things that matter most. When we focus on the things that matter most, our effectiveness grows and when effectiveness grows, our impact multiplies. It's a chain reaction.
Efficiency + Capacity + Effectiveness = Impact
The purpose of efficiency isn't to fill every open minute with more tasks. The purpose is to create space for higher-value work.
A Personal Example
Over the years, I've looked for ways to streamline repetitive tasks in my business. Not because I wanted to cram more work into every day. Quite the opposite. I wanted more time to coach leaders, create content, build relationships, and think strategically.
The goal wasn't more activity. The goal was more contribution. One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is confusing motion with progress. Busy people aren't always productive people. Sometimes the busiest person in the organization is simply operating inside the least efficient system.
Three Ways to Increase Efficiency Without Increasing Workload
If you're looking to create greater impact for yourself or your team, here are three practical places to start.
1. Audit Your Frustrations (this one’s gold)
Pay attention to the tasks that consistently make people say:
- "This takes forever."
- "Why do we do it this way?"
- "There has to be a better process."
Frustration often points directly to inefficiency. Instead of accepting those pain points, investigate them.
Ask:
- What steps are unnecessary?
- What can be automated?
- What can be simplified?
- What can be eliminated entirely?
Every minute saved compounds over time.
2. Focus on High-Value Work
Not all work creates equal impact. Many people spend their days completing urgent tasks while neglecting important ones. Efficiency should help us spend less time on low-value activities and more time on high-value contributions.
Ask yourself:
- What activities create the greatest results?
- What tasks can I only do?
- What work creates the most value for customers, employees, or stakeholders?
Then align your time accordingly.
3. Measure Outcomes, Not Activity
Leaders sometimes reward busyness instead of results. The person answering emails at midnight isn't necessarily the most productive employee. The employee producing exceptional outcomes during normal work hours may actually be the more effective contributor.
Shift the conversation from:
"How much work did we do?"
to
"What impact did your work create?"
The difference is enormous.
The Leadership Challenge
The best leaders don't build cultures where people are exhausted. They build cultures where people are empowered. They help teams eliminate waste, simplify complexity, and focus on meaningful work.
That's why the Four E's work together.
Excellence ensures quality.
Efficiency creates capacity.
Effectiveness drives results.
Entrepreneurship encourages innovation and growth.
Remove one, and the others suffer.
Strengthen all four, and organizations become capable of extraordinary impact.
So the next time someone says efficiency just means doing more work, I'd offer a different perspective. Efficiency isn't about asking people to run faster on the hamster wheel. It's about helping them step off the wheel entirely and focus their energy where it matters most. Because when we create capacity, we increase effectiveness.
When effectiveness increases, so does our ability to make a positive difference in the lives of the people we serve. That's the kind of efficiency worth pursuing don’t you think?