Don’t Chase the Monkey: A Fresh Take on Leadership and Time Management

Leadership often feels like juggling too many priorities while trying to keep chaos at bay. In their insightful book Don’t Chase the Monkey: Stop Reacting, Start Leading, Kate Woodward Young and Carrie Casey offer a witty yet deeply practical guide to reclaiming control of your time, energy, and leadership effectiveness. Their central metaphor—the “monkey”—represents tasks, problems, and responsibilities that too often leap onto a leader’s back, stealing focus and draining productivity.

At its core, the book challenges one of the most common traps leaders fall into: taking on other people’s problems. Whether it’s covering for an employee, solving a teammate’s personal challenge, or micromanaging a project that should be delegated, leaders often adopt “monkeys” that don’t belong to them. The result? Overload, burnout, and a constant feeling of chasing chaos instead of driving progress.

The Monkey Rules of Leadership

Young and Casey build on the classic management idea introduced in the Harvard Business Review’s “Who’s Got the Monkey?” and expand it into a modern, approachable framework. They outline six rules for effective “monkey management,” including:

1. Monkeys should be fed or shot. In other words, tasks require decisions—handle them or let them go.

2. Keep the population manageable. Leaders can’t care for unlimited monkeys; boundaries are essential.

3. Feed by appointment only. Schedule when you’ll address issues rather than letting interruptions derail your day.

4. Feed face-to-face. Real conversations cut through confusion and prevent email ping-pong.

5. Always schedule the next feeding time. Ensure accountability by setting clear next steps.

6. Don’t chase the monkey. The golden rule—don’t solve problems that aren’t yours.

These rules aren’t just catchy slogans; they’re tools for creating structure, clarity, and respect in the workplace. By applying them, leaders transform from fire-fighters to strategists who set direction and empower their teams.

Lessons from the Trenches

What makes Don’t Chase the Monkey stand out is the authors’ storytelling. Through relatable real-world scenarios—from childcare centers to client meetings—the book illustrates how leaders unintentionally chase monkeys and the consequences that follow. One example recounts a leader who spends hours solving an employee’s personal problem, only to discover her effort wasn’t even relevant. Instead of supporting, she had taken away the employee’s ownership and wasted precious time.

These stories aren’t just entertaining—they provide a mirror for readers to recognize their own monkey-chasing tendencies. The authors are candid about their mistakes and the hard-won lessons that shaped their approach, which makes their guidance feel authentic and practical.

Why This Book Matters Now

In today’s world of constant notifications, workplace pressures, and blurred boundaries between work and home, the temptation to take on too many monkeys is greater than ever. Don’t Chase the Monkey offers a refreshing reminder that leadership is not about doing it all—it’s about doing what matters most. The book equips leaders with strategies to set boundaries, delegate effectively, and build teams that take initiative rather than offloading responsibility upward.

For entrepreneurs, managers, and anyone juggling professional and personal commitments, this book is both a relief and a roadmap. It doesn’t promise to eliminate chaos, but it does provide the tools to tame it, creating a calmer, more focused path to success.

Final Thoughts

Don’t Chase the Monkey is more than a management guide—it’s a call to lead with intention. By refusing to carry everyone else’s monkeys, leaders reclaim their time, empower their teams, and rediscover the joy of purposeful leadership. If you’ve ever ended a day wondering why you were so busy but accomplished so little, this book is for you.