88% of Leaders Are Operating in Chaos Mode

88% of Leaders Are Operating in Chaos Mode (Here's How to Tell If You're One of Them)
By: Josiah Bridges
August 14, 2025

Bain & Company studied 400+ executives and found something disturbing: 88% of transformations fail.

Not because of strategy. Not because of resources.

Because leaders are operating from chaos instead of clarity.

I discovered I was one of them when I took over a failing flight school. I thought I was "handling pressure well." I wasn't. I was spreading chaos everywhere I went.

Here are the 3 signs you're leading from chaos:

Sign #1. You solve the same problems repeatedly every week, same fires. Same conflicts. Same breakdowns.

At the flight school, we had weekly scheduling disasters. I'd scramble to fix them, feel heroic, then face the exact same issue next week. Never asked: "What system is creating this pattern?"

That's chaos—treating symptoms, not causes.

Sign #2. Your team brings you problems, not solutions. They wait for you to decide everything. They protect themselves instead of taking ownership.

My team would literally stand outside my office with problems, waiting for me to tell them what to do. I thought they were incompetent.

They weren't. They were mirroring my reactive energy. When I operated from panic, they learned that bringing solutions was dangerous—better to just report problems and let me freak out.

Sign #3. You're exhausted but not progressing. Working harder but stuck in place. Busy but not building. Moving but not improving.

I was working 12-hour days, sleeping poorly, stress-eating, and the business wasn't improving. Maximum effort, minimum progress.

That's the chaos trap: motion without direction.

The Question That Changes Everything

One night, exhausted in the hangar, I asked myself: "What state am I in right now?"

Not "What needs to be done?" Not "Who needs to fix what?"

Just: "What state am I in?"

Chaos. Pure reactive chaos.

That recognition was the beginning of transformation. Revenue doubled. Culture transformed. But it started with seeing my own state clearly.

The 30-Second Check

Try this tomorrow morning before you engage with your team:

• Am I calm or stressed?

• Am I curious or certain?

• Am I responding or reacting?

  If you're in chaos, take 30 seconds to reset. Breathe. Choose clarity.

Your team will feel the difference immediately.

Because here's what I learned: You're not managing a business. You're managing your state. Everything else follows.

How many of these chaos signs felt familiar? What would change if you spent more time managing your inner state than your outer circumstances?