The Hidden Cost of Workplace Drama - and the Shift That Changes Everything

Most leaders underestimate the impact of workplace drama — not the explosive kind, but the subtle, internal churn that quietly drains energy and attention. Cy Wakeman’s research shows we lose 2.5 hours a day to this kind of drama. It’s the mental noise of assumptions, stories, defensiveness, and over‑functioning that keeps us reactive instead of creative.

This week, a lesson from The Year of Living Brilliantly with Michael Bungay Stanier brought this into sharp focus: brilliance isn’t about knowing more — it’s about noticing more, and doing it with genuine curiosity. Especially noticing ourselves.

That idea resonates deeply with my own leadership journey. Going through the Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) was a genuine turning point. It gave language to patterns I had sensed but couldn’t fully articulate: the places where I was operating from fear, striving, or unintentionally creating drama for myself and others. Seeing those reactive tendencies mapped out so clearly was both confronting and liberating. It created the space to choose differently.

Today, as I use the LCP in my coaching practice, I see the same transformation in the leaders I work with. Once they can see their reactive patterns clearly — without judgment — they can shift out of them quickly. Awareness becomes the catalyst. The moment the pattern is named, the drama loses its grip, and a path toward creative, high‑self leadership opens up.

If you’re curious about how the LCP can support your own leadership growth, I’d be glad to connect.