Resetting for High-Impact Leadership

The final chapter of miniseries

Jimmy Burroughes: Hey, welcome back to The Leadership Amplifier, team. If you’ve been riding this mini-series with me, we’re now hitting the final stretch—Part 3. So, first off, thumbs up for sticking with it! We started out exploring your mindset—kind of like looking under the hood to see what’s actually driving your leadership engine. Then, last episode, we went through the toolset—the gear you’re carrying around in your leadership backpack, and, yeah, hopefully you’ve chucked a few heavy, outdated tools by now. Now it’s time for the big reset.

Jimmy Burroughes: This is where things get real. Most leaders talk about wanting different results—higher performing teams, more energy, all that good stuff—but rarely hit pause long enough to actually check their course. And I get it, leadership often feels like you’re on a hamster wheel, playing whackamole with no time to even think about your next minute, let alone get strategic. But this episode is all about making that space for a reset, not just on what you do, but what you believe about being a leader. So, let’s dive in—water metaphor totally intentional, as always.

The Power of Reset: Understanding Stop, Start, Continue

Jimmy Burroughes: Right, let’s get into the nuts and bolts of reset using the classic ‘stop, start, continue’ framework. Now, if you’re not familiar with it, the concept’s pretty simple: what are the things you need to stop doing, what should you start doing, and what’s actually working that you ought to just continue? And honestly, this framework is gold for leaders—it gives you clarity and a way to make changes without getting buried in analysis paralysis.

Jimmy Burroughes: This actually reminds me—back when I was in the military, we’d do a lot of river crossings. Usually, you’d have to swim in these, let’s just say, less-than-ideal conditions—cold, muddy, not a tropical holiday, right? We were taught to know the difference between when you’re swimming towards a target, when you’re just keeping yourself above water, and—worst case—when you’re drowning. Let me unpack that for a sec. Drowning, in a leadership context, is when you’re so overwhelmed you don’t even know which way is up. Maybe you’re just, fixated on hitting next quarter’s numbers—head down, blinkered, and not noticing you’re actually sinking. Treading water, though, that’s when you’re head up, still in control, aware and scanning the options. And swimming—well, that’s when you’re actively making progress, moving in a direction toward a goal you’ve identified.

Jimmy Burroughes: The reset, and this ‘stop, start, continue’ framework, is about knowing when to pause and tread water, take stock, before you end up underwater. So, what are the things dragging you down that you need to stop? What’s missing from your routine or mindset that you need to start? And critically—what’s already working that you don’t want to throw out with the river water. It's really easy to blame external factors and say things like - if i can just get through this week,month,quarter then things will be better - but the reality is that unless you change, things rarely change. Even moreso in this VUCA world we live in - you might survive this challenge but the next one is just around the corner, you're a bit more tired and unless you change tactics, your likelihood of drowning is increased.

Jimmy Burroughes: As you think it through, ask yourself: which actions are actually serving your goals right now, and which beliefs, if I’m being honest, need to be challenged or doubled-down on? That reset moment—the pause, the reset—is what helps leaders pivot from just surviving to actually thriving and making massive impact.

Beliefs Behind the Actions: Mindset Shifts for Leaders

Jimmy Burroughes: Now, here’s where things get a bit trickier—because most of what we do, day in and day out, is fuelled by what we believe. I mean, let’s just admit it: even if you’re smashing through a to-do list, underneath all those activities are beliefs about what matters, what’s right or wrong, good or bad. As we touched on in episode one, those core beliefs are often what keeps us stuck, or, on the flipside, propel us forward.

Jimmy Burroughes: This stop, start, continue process isn’t just about actions—it’s also about running a Belief Audit. What do you need to stop believing about what makes a good leader? What needs to start emerging as a new belief you can practice? And what beliefs have already served you well and are worth doubling down on? In the Amplify programme, I always hammer this point—effective leadership boils down to doing the important things that create the biggest value or impact. Not just being busy, not trying to be the team’s superhero or, as I sometimes call it, ‘the Village Fisherman’—you know, just casting lines everywhere hoping something works. If your beliefs about leadership are stuck on that old myth, you’ll keep sabotaging your own performance, even if you know the best tools.

Jimmy Burroughes: Let’s talk real-world for a second. Think back to Steve Jobs—after he came back to Apple. He’d had time away, doing stuff at Pixar and NXT, and it totally reset his beliefs about product, purpose, and leadership. Instead of doing things because that’s how it’d always been done, he focused on what would have the most impact. That’s the power of resetting the beliefs that sit below your actions. So, for you, maybe that means looking at some of your own beliefs—are they actually helping you lead, or just keeping you busy for the sake of looking busy?

One Small Step: Micro-Actions That Spark Big Results

Jimmy Burroughes: So, let’s bring this home with a totally practical angle—reset doesn’t always mean a massive overhaul. Actually, it rarely does. It’s about the micro-actions—the 1% tweaks that, over time, add up to something big. Change is easier to stick to when it’s small and targeted - as we have discussed a thousand times before.

Jimmy Burroughes: For today, I want you to ask yourself: what’s one small thing—just one—you could do, to reset either your actions or your beliefs, that would make a noticeably outsized difference next week? Maybe it’s stopping a meeting you know is pointless, or starting a genuine check-in with your team, or even just taking five minutes at the end of your day to reflect. Don’t aim for perfection. Just start with that one reset.

Jimmy Burroughes: That’s it for this episode and the mini-series. If you’ve joined all three, thank you for making space for your own reset as a leader. Remember, the smallest step is still a step—in fact, sometimes it’s the only way real change actually sticks. We’ll keep building from here, and I can’t wait to dive in with you again next time. Until then, keep leading with impact.