Ben MortonLeadership Trainer, Coach and Speaker

Why you shouldn't always be available

28 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment of his YouTube talk, leadership coach Ben Morton explains why many leaders feel intense anxiety about becoming unavailable. Drawing from his experience coaching leaders at all levels, he notes that the moment a leader considers turning off notifications, their mind immediately jumps to worst‑case scenarios—such as a boss needing them or a team hitting a problem they can’t reach. While he acknowledges that these fears are real, he argues that focusing solely on the risks represents a one‑sided view of the equation, hinting that there are other important considerations about availability, boundaries, and sustainable leadership.

Chapters

Because in my experience of coaching and training leaders at all levels, being unavailable is really scary. And the very moment you start thinking about switching off or turning off all of your notifications, our brains immediately go to all of the risks and downsides of doing so. What if my boss needs me? What if the team hit a problem and they can't reach me? Yes, those fears are absolutely real. But that line of thinking is only looking at one side of the equation.