Insights, Leadership

The Art of Measured Airtime

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Christopher D. Lee, PhD, SPHR, Managing Director at DSG Global, is widely recognized as an expert on the search committee process, having authored two books and trained more than 1,000 HR professionals on the subject over the past two decades. A retired Lieutenant Colonel with the U.S. Marine Corps, Chris brings a leadership perspective shaped by both the boardroom and the battlefield. In this piece, he turns that lens on a leadership paradox many executives overlook: that authority is often built less by speaking often, and more by knowing exactly when to speak at all.

“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”

Herbert Simon

Some leaders seem far too infatuated with the spotlight. They enjoy too much the attention, accolades, airtime, and the face time that ceremonial aspects afford to leadership positions. Yet some of the trappings that can undermine their authority include speaking too often, speaking too long, and sharing opinions on too broad a range of subjects. In contrast, I once worked for a leader who said the same thing so often that I could have given their speeches myself without notes, including the pauses and jokes. But the magic in this leadership profile was the clarity it brought to the organization. Everyone knew what they were going to say; the focus—and gift to the organization—was simple: everyone knew the three most important things we needed to accomplish as a collective.

In the modern organizational ecosystem, executive attention is one of the most valuable commodities on the balance sheet. Yet many leaders treat communication like an open spigot, demanding too much attention on themselves and inserting themselves into every operational nook and cranny. They operate under the mistaken belief that constant presence equals strong leadership. In reality, a leader who draws too much attention to themselves crowds out the messages they intend to communicate. The focus should be on the message itself, the mission, and the priorities. When unfiltered, voluminous communication comes only from the leader, everything seems like a big priority, though that is a logical impossibility.

The Cost of Constant Chatter

Communication should be routine, but the leader’s role in it should not be. When a leader’s face and voice are omnipresent, two potentially corrosive things can happen. First, it unintentionally usurps the authority of their subordinate leaders. If the leader is ‘the’ source of guidance on every matter, subordinate leaders attempting to command their own areas of responsibility will find their authority hollowed out. Everyone learns to wait and see what the top boss says, effectively short-circuiting the chain of command. Wise leaders understand they must explicitly direct people to “Listen to your immediate manager/leader for information, clarification, and guidance.” After all, a leader cannot be everywhere, which is precisely why they have subordinate leaders in the first place.

Second, over-communication by the leader destroys urgency. If a leader demands that everyone stop and pay attention to what they are saying often, their presence and message lose all differential weight. When a genuine emergency or true crisis strikes, or when a consequential change is needed, their voice carries no extra weight because constant communication has reduced it to everyday normalcy.

Leaders are people who focus attention on a vision.

Anonymous

Strategic Airtime and the Power of the Silence

A disciplined leader recognizes that their messages must be brief, unambiguous, and consequential. Some organizational experts argue that a leader should step into the spotlight only when the news is very good, very bad, or profoundly important. At all other times, subordinate leaders, or their administrative or executive assistants, should communicate on their behalf. Silence on some things should not be mistaken for absence or unawareness; everyone will correctly assume the leader is directing the action from behind the scenes.

When the leader does step forward, it should be for things of the highest order: strategy, vision, direction, emphasis, and determined outcomes. They provide the overarching forecast and trust their team to follow up on the details, execution, and play-by-play. The strategic leader communicates decisions, directions, and destinations.

The same goes for routine staff meetings, committees, and conversations. If the leader convenes the meeting, talks first, jumps in on every point, offers too many opinions, or dominates the airtime, it sends unintentional messages. It stifles creativity, disempowers others, limits the leader’s ability to know what others truly think and what is really going on, and dilutes their own authority. It lessens their own bully pulpit.

Ceremonially, the leader should not act as the master of ceremonies. They are introduced. Their presence and message are prioritized, limited, and calculated to make an impact; in a word, they should be measured. Think about the psychological shift when a respected leader walks into a room: the chatter dies down, people sit up straight, and they instinctively pay attention because they assume that this will be important. If the leader shows up and it is merely business as usual, it is a missed opportunity and diminishes the impact of their leadership.

Summary

Leadership airtime is not a reflection of activity; it measures impact. The goal is not to limit communication for its own sake, but to prioritize it so sharply that whenever the leader speaks or writes, people instantly know that it matters and why. Subordinate leaders are entrusted to hold their operational ground and communicate within their own sphere. A measured leader does not need volume or the appearance of control. The ideal scenario is that when the leader speaks, the team, the department, or the entire organization listens and responds accordingly, given the gravity and weight of their voice, position, and authority.

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2026

Christopher D. Lee, PhD, SPHR, is an executive search consultant with DSG Global in its Education Practice. He is a former five-time Chief Human Resources Officer in higher education, having spent 30 years helping senior leaders recruit, develop, and support great teams. He is also a four-time author and a retired officer from the US Marine Corps Reserves.