What to Do When You Hit a Wall: A Leadership Aperture Approach to Attention Management

By David Cicerchi, Certified Leadership Aperture Coach

We all hit a wall, when we simply can't move forward. What we do next is everything.

Do you ever hit a wall?

When your brain simply refuses to function, your body slows to a stop, and your usual drive just… disappears?

I had one of those days recently. I was trying to create a piece of content—something I do regularly and usually love. But no matter how hard I pushed, I couldn’t focus. My creativity dried up. My mind just... stalled.

And I know I’m not alone in this. If you’re a leader in a high-demand environment like tech, manufacturing, or education—heck, even just being human right now—you know the feeling.

So what do we do when we hit that wall?

Most People Push Harder. But Is That the Only Option?

When we hit a wall, many of us instinctively try to force our way through it:

• We double down.

• We grab caffeine or snacks.

• We blast music or scroll social media to “reset” ourselves.

• Or we crash—mentally checking out or physically collapsing.

  
  

But what if hitting the wall is actually a signpost?

What if, instead of ignoring it, we used it as a signal to shift how we're using our attention?

That’s where the Leadership Aperture model comes in.

Leadership Aperture: A Model for Managing Attention

I was introduced to this model through the telos institute’s Vertical Frontier program (I'm now one of telos' coaches). It’s a deceptively simple framework that trains leaders to widen and narrow their attentional aperture—their scope of awareness—intentionally, based on what the situation calls for. Just like a camera lens widens and narrows to let more or less light in, leaders must intentionally widen or narrow how much information they are letting in.

Let me break it down through the lens of attention management, which is more crucial now than ever. Our attention is constantly being hijacked. And when we don’t manage it consciously, we burn out, shut down, or get stuck.

1. Narrow Aperture – Laser Focus

When we narrow our aperture, we get really focused. This is the classic productivity zone:

• One task at a time

• Head down, distractions off

• Just execute

  
  

If the "hitting the wall" feeling is about being overwhelmed with too much, this mode is powerful—as long as we’re pointing in the right direction.

But if we’re focused on the wrong thing, we risk wasting effort and hitting more walls. Like the time I created a beautiful onboarding system for new hires at my previous company—only to find out it didn’t work for a third of the team because they didn’t have computer access. Oops.

2. Medium Aperture – Strategic Focus

When we shift to a medium aperture, we pull back a bit. We still focus, but now with intentionality:

• Is this task aligned with my/our goals?

• What should I prioritize or drop?

• How can I channel my mind and emotions toward the outcomes that matter?

  
  

This aperture is more emotionally intelligent. You’re not just doing tasks—you’re choosing the right ones, aligning focus with strategy. You can effectively deal with the overwhelm by letting go of the wasted efforts and more confidently focus your energy. But if you stay here too long without checking your assumptions or checking in with people around you, you might still miss something essential…

Like people’s lived experiences. I remember many years ago, when I created an amazing plan for a leadership development retreat. I systematically created my mission statement, strategy, and plan for how it would go. But I was so into my own strategy, that I neglected to listen to my collaborators and partners. I also became rigid and unable to adapt in the moment. So I would hit other kinds of walls throughout the retreat. This is where wide aperture lens is called for.

3. Wide Aperture – Open Awareness

This is where we zoom out completely.

We let go of urgency and deadlines, or even goals themselves—just for a moment—and ask:

• What really matters here?

• What does my body, heart, or intuition say?

• What am I not seeing because I’ve been too focused?

  
  

Sometimes this looks like pausing and asking those around you what they're experiencing. Or it may look like going for a walk, breathing in the fresh air, and letting your nervous system reset. That’s what I did when I hit a wall the other day. I widened my aperture—took in the birds, the trees, the neighbors, my own body—and suddenly… my creativity returned.

I sat back down, and the words started to flow.

A Real-Life Example: When the Body Says No

One of my clients was pushing himself hard—long hours, constant pressure. Eventually, his body said, “No more.” He could barely work for a couple hours a day before his body would shut down.

When we widened his aperture and got curious about his inner experience—when he treated the "hitting the wall feeling" as information instead of a problem—it turned out he was carrying unprocessed grief from a recent loss. By making space for that grief—not pushing it away—his energy returned. He could work again. He wanted to work again.

That’s the power of widening the aperture. It lets in what was previously ignored or neglected so that more energy can flow.

So... What Do You Do When You Hit a Wall?

You have a choice.

You can:

• Narrow your aperture to focus more sharply and reduce distractions

• Widen your aperture to reconnect with your deeper knowing

• Or shift into medium to realign your attention with what really matters

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. But having range—the ability to consciously widen your aperture—is a superpower that telos' Vertical Frontier leadership program trains its participants, and that my Leadership Aperture Coaching facilitates.

Final Thought: When You Access Your Wisdom

When you hit a wall, it doesn’t mean something’s wrong. In fact, it might mean something in you is right—trying to get your attention.

Your job as a leader isn’t to bulldoze through every obstacle. It’s to discern: What aperture does this moment call for?

That question could unlock your next breakthrough, when you listen to the wisdom within that response.

🌀 Let’s Talk – Schedule a Discovery Call

Below is the original video that inspired this blog post (assisted by ChatGPT):

Useful Resources:

• telos institute: Leadership Aperture Model

• Announcing My Partnership with the telos institute:  my blog post introducing the Vertical Frontier leadership program, the Leadership Agility model and my work with telos.