Urgency, on its own, is not dangerous.

Here is the real learning I have taken from watching this play out inside organisations and inside leaders.

Speed is not choice. Urgency becomes harmful when action happens without trade-offs. When leaders keep adding “urgent” without removing anything, they’re really saying:

“I cannot choose.”

“I will not push back.”

“I am not willing to disappoint the person above me.”

Every urgent request tests leadership: can you define value, protect focus, and make trade-offs?

The lesson isn’t “slow down.” It’s choose: what matters, what stops, what gets pushed back.