Why Some Leaders Gain Momentum and Others Stall—The Leadership Flywheel

Over the past few weeks, I have explored pressure, fear of decision-making, running on empty, and emotional intelligence. These are all critical challenges, and they resonate because, as leaders, we have all felt them at some point. But they are also reactive responses to external pressures rather than proactive steps towards sustained success.

This has been on my mind lately. Why do some leaders seem to be constantly firefighting, while others create a sense of forward momentum? The answer, I believe, lies in how we operationalise success rather than just plan for it.

As I write this, it seems so obvious, and suddenly, I feel a little vulnerable. Have I been the laggard all along? Has everyone else already figured this out? But then I remind myself—if it were obvious in practice, more leaders would be doing it. Maybe that is the real challenge: we know what works, but we do not always embed it into how we lead.

It is not that we lack knowledge. In fact, much of what we read about leadership is not new. We have heard the principles before. But, as Nick Santonastasso reminded me at the Pendulum Summit earlier this year, sometimes we just need to be reconnected to what we already know. The challenge is not in discovering a new framework, but in applying what we already understand—consistently and intentionally.

The Flywheel: Why Some Leaders Gain Momentum and Others Stall

Momentum does not get talked about enough in leadership, but it is one of the most powerful forces in business. It is what separates organisations that thrive from those that stagnate.

Jim Collins, in Good to Great, introduced the idea of the Leadership Flywheel—a concept that illustrates how small, consistent wins build upon each other, gaining speed and making future success feel inevitable. When leaders create an environment where progress compounds, they do not need to rely on bursts of inspiration or moments of brilliance.

Momentum is not the result of one big breakthrough, but a cycle where:
✔ Small successes build confidence
✔ Confidence fuels motivation
✔ Motivation drives greater achievements
✔ Greater achievements reinforce belief in what is possible

But there is a catch: many leaders struggle to get the Flywheel moving, not because they lack vision, but because something is holding them back.

The First Time I Heard P = p - i

The first time I heard Professor Timothy Gallwey’s Performance Formula—P = p - i (Performance = Potential – Interference)—I did not realise how significant it was.

I had just landed a senior leadership role at a company, and at one of my very first meetings, the founder started talking about Gallwey’s concept. I was not particularly well-read at the time, and I had never come across it before. In my naivety, I attributed the idea to the founder himself. For years, I thought it was his unique way of thinking about performance.

You can imagine my surprise—or maybe even embarrassment—years later when I finally read Gallwey’s work and saw it laid out there, exactly as I had first heard it.

But in that moment, I realised something far more important.

I was so focused on learning strategies that I overlooked something obvious—leadership isn’t about knowing, it’s also about removing obstacles. That realisation hit me years later when I finally read Gallwey’s work. It wasn’t just about performance; it was about what was holding me (and others) back.

Removing Interference to Get the Flywheel Moving

Gallwey’s insight is simple yet profound:

Performance = Potential – Interference

For a Flywheel to turn, friction needs to be removed. And in business, friction looks like:

• Constant context-switching—endless meetings and distractions that prevent deep work

• Lack of clarity—teams unsure of what truly matters, leading to scattered effort

• Decision bottlenecks—leaders afraid to let go, slowing down execution

• Energy drains—unnecessary processes, politics, or bureaucracy that sap momentum

Leaders often spend too much time trying to unlock more potential when, in reality, the key to sustainable high performance is in removing interference.

·       The leader who never delegates struggles, not because they lack capability, but because interference—micromanagement and lack of trust—slows them down.

·       The company that constantly shifts priorities underperforms, not because the team lacks skills, but because interference—lack of focus—keeps them from gaining traction.

·       The executive who is always in meetings is not ineffective due to lack of talent, but because interference—constant context-switching—prevents strategic thinking.

The best leaders do not just increase their effort, they systematically remove interference to create momentum that sustains itself.

From Vision to Execution: How to Get the Flywheel Spinning

So, how do you move from reacting to building a proactive system for success? It starts with:

1.      Setting the Right Focus—Identify the vital few priorities that actually make a difference. The Four Revolutions of Management teaches us the power of focusing on the Most Important Tasks rather than being pulled into the noise.

2.      Creating Early Wins—Progress fuels motivation. The best leaders design small, achievable wins that set the tone for bigger successes.

3.      Embedding Momentum into Culture—Sustainable high performance is not about a single sprint, it is about embedding a way of working where progress becomes a habit.

4.      Removing Interference—Applying Gallwey’s principle, look at what is slowing you or your team down. Are there bottlenecks, distractions, or inefficiencies holding you back?

5.      Leveraging Data and Reflection—Drucker’s mantra rings true: "If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it." Leaders who take the time to review, refine, and reinforce successful behaviours build organisations that sustain their edge.

Leadership and Business Impact: Why This Matters

When companies struggle to grow, it is rarely because they lack ideas or talent. It is because interference is slowing them down.

• Decision bottlenecks delay execution

• Team misalignment creates wasted effort

• Shifting priorities kill momentum before success can compound

In my work with leaders, the focus is always on removing interference first. When that happens, the Flywheel starts to turn, and performance follows.

Where to From Here?

The best leaders are not just reactive, they create systems that make success inevitable. They move people from what is probable to what is possible.

Think about your own leadership:
👉 Are you operationalising success, or just setting plans?
👉 Are you creating momentum that makes winning feel natural?
👉 What is the smallest win you can achieve today to move things forward?

📩 Let’s talk—what is your biggest challenge in building momentum in your organisation? Drop a comment, email me at anthony.omara@aramoglobal.com, or visit www.anthonyomara.com to connect.