Case study · 90-Day Implementation Lab
How Leanne nearly halved her leadership capacity leaks.
A frontline service leader in a trauma-exposed service, working one to one with Barry for 90 days while the pressure of the job carried on around her.
A 34-point drop, about 46% less reported leakage. Lower is better.
Where she started
A week with no time that felt like her own.
Leanne’s first week had no protected time at all. Work followed her home every evening. Her highest leaks were exactly what you’d expect of a capable leader everyone relies on: her calendar, constant interruptions, and responsibility drifting up to her from the team.
None of this was a resilience problem. She was committed, skilled and clearly good at her job. The problem was how the work was organised around her.
The seven capacity leaks
Before and after, leak by leak.
The Scorecard measures seven places where a leader’s time, energy and decision-making get pulled away from what matters. Lower scores mean less leakage.
The 90 days
Rhythm, then purpose, then team.
No grand plan. A series of small, deliberate shifts, practised week by week, including in the weeks that went sideways.
Stabilise the week
- A firm phone boundary from 5pm to 8:30am, held within the first fortnight
- A protected 30-minute block each day that became a habit
- Short buffers between demanding tasks
- A daily on-ramp and off-ramp, and a weekly reset
- An honest calendar that named predictable work for what it was
Decide on purpose, not pressure
- A simple decision filter: purpose, ownership and urgency
- Yes, no, defer or refer became a choice instead of a reflex
- Her own filter: protect my capacity, so I can protect my team, so they can protect the young people
Hand thinking back to the team
- A Team Rhythm Map of what’s urgent and what can wait
- Clarity on decisions the team can make without her
- Asking “what do you recommend?” instead of solving it for them
In Leanne’s words
“Putting boundaries in is making me feel empowered.”
“I feel like there’s a massive improvement. There are spots throughout my day where it is my time.”
“It encourages me to feel more confident about myself as a leader.”
What’s next
Trust is the new leading edge.
Trust moved the least, and that’s honest. Leanne’s own rhythm changed faster than her team’s habits. They’re still learning to rely on themselves instead of her.
That’s the next stage of the framework: building a team that is confident and capable without losing support and accountability. Stabilising the leader creates the conditions for it, but doesn’t finish the job on its own.
Where is your capacity leaking?
Start with the same Scorecard Leanne used, or talk to Barry about the 90-Day Implementation Lab.
About this case study: results are from one participant’s self-reported Leadership Capacity Scorecard, completed at the start and end of a one-to-one results-coaching engagement in 2026. They show one leader’s experience and don’t guarantee the same outcome for others. This was coaching, not psychological assessment or treatment. Shared with Leanne’s permission.