Every business hits friction. Sometimes that friction is healthy; it creates checks, balance, and rigor. But too often, friction becomes inertia—slowing progress through convoluted processes, outdated systems, unclear ownership, or quiet resistance from those who’ve grown comfortable. That’s when pushing through matters most.
Pushing through is a leadership muscle. It’s not soft power. It’s not charisma. It’s not consensus-building. It’s the ability to get meaningful things done—especially when the odds are stacked against you.
And let’s be honest: pushing through doesn’t always make you popular.
You upset the status quo. You expose inefficiencies. You bypass internal politics. You may challenge people who prefer ambiguity, or who simply don’t want to be moved. But when done thoughtfully, this is the kind of leadership that shifts organizations.
What You’re Really Up Against
The adversity that calls for this muscle takes many forms:
- Impossible deadlines with no room for error
- Tight budgets that force hard choices
- Legacy staff and trapped knowledge that create bottlenecks
- Red tape and bloated process that add zero value
- Outdated tools or tech debt that slow even basic execution
- Skill gaps or resistance from key players that quietly undermine delivery
And yet, the work still needs to move forward. Stakeholders still expect results. Customers don’t care how hard it was behind the scenes.
That’s the essence of pushing through: progress in the face of resistance—whether the resistance is technical, structural, or human.
Pushing Through Is Strategic, Not Reckless
This isn’t about being a hero or a martyr. Pushing through means making hard calls with imperfect information. It means taking calculated risks—when the cost of waiting is greater than the risk of acting. It means knowing that full alignment is rare, and progress often requires moving forward anyway.
You’ll ruffle feathers. You may even make a few enemies. But you’ll also build a reputation for delivering when it matters most—and that’s a powerful currency.
The Power of the First Push
In my experience, the first time you push through is always the hardest. People resist. Systems break. Outcomes might be messy. But I never saw that as failure. I saw it as initiation—a forced break in inertia.
Because once things are in motion, everything changes.
You now have context, buy-in (even begrudging), and most importantly, a path. That initial push—even if imperfect—creates momentum. And momentum invites iteration, refinement, and eventually, better outcomes.
The real differentiator? Follow-through.
Once you muscle your way through a single tough project, stick around to smooth the rough edges, standardize what worked, and raise the bar the next time. Success doesn’t just come to those who push—it comes to those who keep showing up after the first push.
So when you flex that muscle, don’t stop at the breakthrough. Stick with it. The second and third turns are where excellence takes shape.
Where This Muscle Shows Up in the Real World
This isn’t just theory. Some of the most meaningful transformations in business happened because someone refused to play it safe. Some examples:
- Satya Nadella at Microsoft — shifted a 100,000+ person culture toward openness, cloud-first thinking, and cross-functional collaboration.
- Tony Fadell at Apple — overcame repeated failure and internal skepticism to deliver both the iPod and iPhone.
- FEMA after Hurricane Katrina — cut through bureaucracy to modernize disaster response through real-time data systems.
- Shopify during COVID — rewrote their roadmap in weeks to help small businesses survive through curbside pickup, delivery tools, and rapid digital onboarding.
- Target’s tech reinvention — moved away from legacy vendors and rebuilt their in-house engineering culture to become a modern digital retailer.
Each of these moments required leaders to push through confusion, conflict, and constraints—to deliver outcomes that mattered.
Building the Muscle: What Leaders Can Start Doing Now
You don’t develop the ability to push through overnight. It’s a leadership muscle—built through tough reps, deliberate action, and reflection. Here’s how to start strengthening it:
- Get comfortable with friction. Progress often means working through people who delay or derail it. Don’t avoid tension—learn to lead through it.
- Take calculated risks. Waiting for perfect clarity is often a bigger risk than moving with 80% certainty. Push when the opportunity cost of inaction is too high.
- Earn trust before you challenge. Your ability to push is directly tied to your track record. Deliver consistently. Build credibility. Then flex.
- Communicate clearly under pressure. When others are uncomfortable, your clarity of purpose and messaging keeps things on track.
- Map your blockers with precision. Are you facing process, platform, people, or politics? Diagnose the resistance before you push against it.
- Choose your moments. If you push through everything, you burn trust. If you push through nothing, you lose relevance. Great leaders know the difference.
- Reflect after every push. Did it work? Did it strain relationships? Use each experience to refine how—and when—you use this muscle.
Final Thought
Pushing through is messy, imperfect, and often thankless in the moment. But it’s how real change happens. It’s how you move from idea to impact.
So don’t be afraid to flex that muscle—especially when the business needs it most. Just make sure you’re pushing with intention, clarity, and a deep respect for what (and who) lies in your path.