Your Boss Doesn’t Have Time for You
Imagine walking into your next one-on-one and realizing it’s been rescheduled—again.
It’s not personal. It’s structural.
Across nearly every industry, organizations are flattening. Layers of management are being trimmed in the name of “agility.” The result? Fewer bosses who have far more people to manage.
A recent Wall Street Journal article put numbers to what most professionals already feel. Managers today oversee roughly three times as many direct reports as they did a decade ago. In 2017, there was one manager for every five employees. By 2023, that ratio had ballooned to one for every 15—and it’s still climbing.
Your boss doesn’t have time for you because your boss is drowning.
The leadership gap nobody talks about
This flattening of organizations creates a new kind of workplace tension. Bosses are running larger teams with less time for thoughtful communication. Employees, meanwhile, are frustrated—waiting for guidance, feedback, and connection that never seems to come.
The old rhythm of regular check-ins and predictable feedback loops is breaking down. And no amount of calendar reminders can fix it.
Waiting for things to “go back to normal” isn’t a strategy.
If your boss doesn’t have time for you, you have to adapt how you communicate—because clarity has become the new currency of attention.
The six “P’s” for communicating when time is scarce
When managers are stretched thin, you can’t afford to be unclear. You have to become the kind of communicator who earns attention.
Here’s how:
1. Be professional.
Start with mindset. This isn’t personal—it’s professional. Your boss’s lack of time isn’t a reflection of your worth; it’s a reflection of their workload. Treat every interaction as a chance to make collaboration easier, not more difficult.
2. Be proactive.
Don’t wait to be found. Seek them out. Suggest short check-ins, drop brief updates in writing, or schedule quick five-minute syncs. Busy leaders reward initiative because it saves them the time and effort of chasing information.
3. Be purposeful.
Never meet just to meet. Know exactly what you need to discuss and why it matters now. If there’s no clear purpose, skip it. Purpose gives conversations direction—and direction saves time.
4. Be prepared.
Show up ready. Have notes, a BRIEF Map, or a short outline that captures what’s changed since your last conversation. Remind them where things left off and what’s next. Don’t assume they remember—help them connect the dots.
5. Be personal.
Even a minute of genuine conversation matters. Ask about their recent trip or how their team is handling a big project. Relationships don’t survive on bullet points alone. A small human moment makes a big professional difference.
6. Be patient.
Schedules collapse. Meetings move. Priorities shift. Stay calm and empathetic. Frustration adds noise; patience earns trust.
Why this matters
When layers disappear, leadership gets thinner—and communication gets harder. But access and attention aren’t the same thing. You might not get more face time, but you can make your limited time count.
The people who thrive in this new reality aren’t louder; they’re clearer.
They know how to distill information, focus on what matters most, and deliver it in a way that busy people can absorb quickly. They prepare. They simplify. They stay calm under pressure.
And because they do, they stand out.
As a leader myself, I can tell you that the professionals who make my life easier—the ones who organize their thoughts, speak succinctly, and show up ready—get my attention first. Not because I have endless time for them, but because they respect how little time there is.
The bigger picture
At The BRIEF Lab, we’re seeing this pattern everywhere—from Fortune 500 companies to military commands. Teams are bigger, meetings are shorter, and expectations are higher. The margin for miscommunication has never been smaller.
That’s one of the reasons we launched BRIEF Team Builder, a year-long post-training subscription that helps teams stay sharp, accountable, and aligned. It’s designed for exactly this reality—where leaders and teams need structure to stay connected, even when time is tight.
Final thought
Your boss doesn’t have time for you—unless you make your communication so clear and concise that they want to make time.
Flatter organizations aren’t slowing down anytime soon. The only thing that cuts through complexity is clarity.
Be professional. Be proactive. Be purposeful. Be prepared. Be personal. Be patient.
Those six “P’s” can turn a scarce conversation into a meaningful one.
Because even the busiest leaders always find time for the people who make things easier to understand.
Just saying.
Joseph McCormack first shared these ideas in his Just Saying podcast, Episode 379, You boss doesn’t have time for you