Why I Wrote The Three Bucket Leader
Unlike many leadership books filled with theories and complex strategies, The Three Bucket Leader is rooted in real-life experiences.
I never planned to write a book. But watching talented people lose their spark at work — especially during and after the pandemic — lit a fire in me that I couldn’t ignore.
Over my 30 years in banking and leadership development, I’ve seen firsthand how disengagement can quietly creep in, affecting not just productivity, but one’s sense of purpose and fulfillment. It wasn’t just something happening to others — I saw it in myself, in my colleagues, and across industries.
That’s what led me to write The Three Bucket Leader. The Three Bucket Approach is a simple and practical framework that can transform not only the way leaders and their teams view their work, but how they approach life.
A Crisis of Engagement
The post-pandemic workplace has presented one of the biggest challenges of our time: re-engagement. Leaders are struggling to inspire their teams, and employees at all levels are questioning their purpose. These are urgent challenges that impact not only success in the workplace, but overall fulfillment in life.
Leaders today have access to an overwhelming amount of advice on how to motivate employees. But The Three Bucket Leader takes a different approach. It shows leaders how engagement isn’t just about adding incentives, it’s about reexamining and reevaluating how we spend our time and energy — and that every minute matters.
The Three Buckets: A Simple but Powerful Framework
At its core, the Three Bucket approach helps leaders and individuals sort their time, energy, and focus into three categories:
• Bucket One: Activities that energize and fulfill you—this is where purpose and passion live.
• Bucket Two: The middle ground, the limbo where we operate on autopilot without real engagement.
• Bucket Three: The draining tasks that zap energy and pull us away from impactful work.
Most people, I’ve found, aren’t fully engaged or disengaged—they’re stuck in the middle bucket, going through the motions without feeling a true connection to their work. The challenge is recognizing when we’re in that space and learning how to break free.
A Practical Guide for Every Leader
Unlike many leadership books filled with theories and complex strategies, The Three Bucket Leader is rooted in real-life experiences. I’ve packed it with actionable tools — like the Bucket Journal — a simple but effective system to track how you’re spending your time. This tool has helped hundreds of leaders, middle managers, and their teams identify patterns and take control day.
More Than a Framework—A Movement
This book is more than just a set of principles; it’s a call to action. It’s about taking ownership of how we invest our time and helping others do the same. The principles in The Three Bucket Leader extend beyond the workplace, touching every aspect of life—from how we show up for our families to the way we pursue our passions.
My goal is to equip readers with the insights and tools they need to make the choice: Are you going to stay stuck in the middle bucket, or are you ready to go All In?
I hope you’ll consider learning more about the Three Bucket Framework and how it can re-engage your employees and change the way you approach life.
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Karen Gilhooly
Author of The Three Bucket Leader
Host of the Make Minutes Matter Podcast. Listen here.
You can pre-order The Three Bucket Leader here.
