Big, Hairy, and Unexpected: Leading Through Life’s Interruptions
- Michael Troxell
- Oct 13
- 2 min read
A Leadership Blog, Brought to You by a 17-pound Interruption
Ever try to write an important email…
…and then a 17-pound cat flops directly across your keyboard?
That’s leadership.
Not the cat , the moment.
You’re moving with purpose. You’ve got direction. You’re finally on a roll, and then thump. Something lands in your path that does not care about your plan.
That cat might be a team member having a meltdown.
Or a board member shifting priorities at the last moment.
Or maybe it’s just your own fatigue, finally catching up with you.
It’s easy to get frustrated. Easy to try to shove the interruption off your keyboard (or out of your calendar) and get back to what you were doing.
But here’s the truth: what blocks the flow often reveals what matters most.
Cats don’t lie.
And neither do interruptions.
They force you to re-examine what you’re focused on. Who you’re ignoring. Or how rigid your systems have become. Sometimes they show you that something (or someone) you’ve been overlooking actually needs your attention now.
Great leaders don’t just write better emails.
They handle the cat.
They learn to lead through interruption, through resistance, through the moments that slow things down, not because they’re problems, but because they’re pointing to something deeper. They are leading through life’s interruptions.
Sometimes the delay is a gift.
Sometimes it’s your only chance to realign.
Sometimes, it’s just a cat being a cat, and you’re being invited to pause, breathe, and maybe laugh a little.
So the next time something big, hairy, and unexpected sprawls across your day…
Don’t just shoo it away.
Ask what it’s trying to teach you.
Then maybe give it some chocolate, or a cardboard box, or, if you’re a leader, some real attention.
Even if it leaves a little fur behind.
🎧 Listen to the podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4eNg0E5QrFInopQl7DB5RI?si=dtRwQI8PRnKl0SlHMHsnAw
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