Two weeks ago, I led a Working Genius workshop in North Carolina, and an audience member asked a question I’ve heard a variation of in nearly every session I’ve taught on this topic.

It’s the question leaders quietly carry because they assume they’re doing something wrong to cause the issue.

Here’s what she asked:

“My team is great at brainstorming and coming up with ideas. Sometimes we even get started right away. But we can’t seem to get anything to the finish line in a timely manner. What’s going on?”

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. It’s one of the most common patterns I see in my business coaching and workshops.

Before we dig in, a quick note: I’m doing a free online version of this workshop in two weeks. Newsletter readers get early enrollment before we open it up next week. Enroll here.

Now let’s unpack the issue.

Every project moves through three stages:

Ideation → Activation → Implementation

Work stalls when the projects moves into the stage of work your team isn’t naturally built for. Either because you don’t have this skill on your team or because you have the wrong team member focused on the wrong stages.

Most teams aren’t balanced across all three stages.

Some teams are great at dreaming, imagining, and generating possibilities (ideation).
Some teams are great at turning ideas into structured plans (activation).
Some teams are great at driving work forward and finishing (implementation).

That’s the real reason projects:
• take off fast
• hit turbulence halfway through
• limp toward the finish line

Momentum dies not because people don’t care.
Momentum dies because the work shifts into a stage that no longer plays to the team’s natural strengths.

Teams gifted in ideation try to solve all problems by coming up with more ideas. Teams with the genius of activation hold more meetings, push more reminders, and tighten deadlines.

What is needed is getting the people wired for implementation focused on the last third of the project without more ideas to consider and meetings to work through.

Here’s how to break the cycle. This isn’t a motivation issue. It’s a mismatch issue.

Look back at three recent projects.
Where did progress get fuzzy or stalled?

That’s not random. It’s your pattern.

The person who dreams the idea into existence may not be the person who should turn it into a plan.
The planner may not be the one who should run execution.
And your finishers shouldn’t be dragged into early-stage brainstorming.

Real leadership is knowing who owns what and when.

Most breakdowns happen in the transitions:

Ideation → Activation
Activation → Implementation

Clarify what “done” means for each stage before the next one begins.
Your timelines will compress faster than you expect.

This is exactly what I’ll be walking through (with examples and tools) in the free online workshop for newsletter readers in two weeks.

Those swings show up when your day forces you into work that doesn’t match how you naturally operate.

Every task involves either ideation, activation, or implementation. When your day leans heavily into the phase that drains you, your energy drops fast.

Here’s what to do:
• First, identify which phase the draining work belongs to.
• Then, see if someone on your team naturally excels in that phase and can partner with you or take the lead.
• And if you have to do it solo, adjust your approach: shorten it, batch it, anchor it between two tasks that give you energy, or schedule it for a time of day when your load is lighter.

When the work matches how you’re wired, your energy stabilizes. When it doesn’t, the swings make perfect sense. Self‑awareness is the first step to stop feeling guilty and fix the problem.

~ Chad Todd

This week, think of your work differently. Don’t just think of what you have to do. Think of how you have to do it and how that affects your energy towards the task. Zoom out and think of it this way for projects your team is working on.

Fix the handoffs, align ownership around the best person qualified for the stage of work, and watch your projects move faster with more consistency and far less strain.

P.S.

I’m hosting a free online version of my Working Genius workshop in two weeks.
I will walk through the three stages of work, explain the 6 types of people that work for you, diagnose where projects actually break, and give you tools to move work forward with less friction and no burn out.

Newsletter readers get early enrollment this week.
We open it to the public next week.