Not all urgency is created equal, and not all of it deserves our immediate energy. Urgency is often framed as binary: either something is urgent or it’s not. We see examples in our current context of intentionally generating manufactured urgency as a tool and tactic, particularly for those opposed to equity and fairness. At other times, we might notice the manufactured urgency generated not from others but from within. We need a more nuanced lens on urgency to lead toward better tomorrows.
Urgency is multifaceted. By unbraiding the threads of real, manufactured, externally imposed, or internally generated, leaders can be more clear about what is urgent and put our energy where it belongs, this can help us be the calm eye at the center of the hurricane and move from being reactive to intentional, leading with calm, clarity, and intentionality through the chaos.
Manufactured vs. Real Urgency
Real urgency emerges from genuine needs—things that truly matter and require timely action. Manufactured urgency, on the other hand, is often artificially created by ulterior motives, other people’s priorities, perfectionism, people pleasing, or poor planning.
We currently see examples of manufactured urgency as a strategy and tool to avoid accountability and resistance. Some folks are intentionally creating chaos and crises to “flood the zone” to distract, avoid accountability, and overwhelm to make their aims achievable. If you’ve found yourself overwhelmed, outraged, and ready to throw up your hands in frustration, that is on purpose.
External vs. Internal Urgency
Urgency doesn’t just come from outside pressures—it also bubbles up from within. External urgency is what the world throws at us: deadlines, demands, news, crises, and requests. Internal urgency is what we generate ourselves: our values, people we care about, self-doubt, fear, or an overdeveloped sense of responsibility.
Our ability to recognize the locus of the urgency we feel (internal and external) and discern its roots can help us deploy our individual and collective resources where they are most needed. This matrix illustrates the four different kinds of urgency: crisis, priority, false fires, and anxiety.
Crisis
This is real, immediate, and outside your control—like an employee in crisis, a sudden budget cut, or a friend in immediate danger. Recognizing this crisis can help us set aside less immediate things and bring presence, focus, calm, and clarity to the situation. Leaders’ ability to acknowledge the storm swirling around them, while being the calm at the eye of the storm, can help them see clearly, assess the situation, and bring what is most needed now.
Priority
This is urgency rooted in the core of who we are and what we care about. It comes from your purpose, values, and best self. Buddhists call this our “wise mind,” and internal family systems call this our “Self.” As Greg McKeown reminds us in Essentialism, most people aren’t clear about their priorities because they don’t take the time to explore, reflect, challenge, and discern what they genuinely care about. Taking time to discover, clarify, and bring our center to more aliveness can be transformative for leaders navigating the storm.
False Fire
This is when the external world can hijack your focus, and you can feel like a puppet with the center of control beyond you. Something is satisfying and self-important about being needed in a crisis. Outrage and joy look very similar neurobiologically in our brain. Being needed, the rush, importance, can all be tempting and even addictive.
False fires often happen just due to circumstances, but at times, this is an intentional strategy done to us. Examples include disingenuous demands and unrealistic timelines, the email with five exclamation marks, or the poor planning from others that now lands on you. This also leads to drama (unnecessary conflict) and reactivity. False fires require boundary setting and accountability.
Anxiety
This is the unnecessary pressure we put on ourselves: the fear of being behind, the shame of not doing enough, the voice that says, “you can’t let anyone down.” This urgency feels very real. However, in retrospect we often see that it is rooted in fears, old stories, perfectionism, or trauma—not the present moment. Taking time to get grounded and centered can help us move out of reactivity, gain perspectice, get present, and re-engage with our grounded and centered self.
Leading for Equity
If you are interested in exploring this more, particularly related to leading for equity, our Evolve program is a great opportunity. You can learn more about Evolve here and sign-up for more resources, information, and to connect here.
