As a leader, it's your job to keep things running smoothly, deal with any issues that arise, and do it with pace! While it's easy for anyone on the outside looking in to think this role is simple, those of us living it know how challenging it can be. Early in my career I thought going fast was the best option. If I could respond to people and complete projects at pace, it somehow made me feel like a high performer. It wasn’t until I made a superfast decision that led to a project and relationships blowing up in my face, I realised if only I had paused, I would have given myself time to come up with a much better solution. We often have much more time than we realise to pause and think before we respond, it just takes practice.

If you're feeling the pressure of the pace at work and looking for something to help, I encourage you to include the rich heritage and wisdom from the East in your exploration – not just Western research. It has certainly help me to pause and go slow, which has been key to many successful outcomes. Eastern approaches emphasise introspection and reflection, providing profound insight into the power of pausing for leaders – especially when they are leading in fast paced environments like you.

Eastern Philosophy encourages pausing to help leaders to...

Lead with greater intelligence and awareness.

Practicing meditation and mindfulness helps you connect with your mind, body, and spirit, maintaining awareness of your thoughts, feelings, sensations, and environment. This practice allows you to pause and heighten awareness even in stressful situations, clearing your mind to focus on the present. As a result, you make more intentional decisions, stay composed, and respond to challenges with greater insight and clarity. You are also more in tune with your wellbeing needs and can take corrective action to avoid burnout.

Lead with range and balance.

Slowing down to reflect on what is going on around you helps find internal and external balance, allowing leaders to align personal values with professional duties, uphold ethics, and promote positive organisational cultures. This approach gives you inner intelligence that can enable you to adapt your leadership style to situational needs, act and lead with more alignment and integrity, make more informed decisions. Pausing to reflect helps to reduce bias as you evaluate data more comprehensively. In other words, you can consider all aspects of a situation and make well-rounded decisions.

The result? More balanced, effective and dimensional leadership..

Lead with a growth mindset.

A pause-and-reflect approach encourages personal development and enhances strategic thinking through self-cultivation - a lifelong pursuit of virtue and wisdom from paying attention to the patterns in your thoughts, feelings and action. Your emotional intelligence grows. Through a commitment to your own growth as a leader, you not only develop and enhance your own leadership capability, but also create a culture of growth and development within your team and organisation by role modelling learning.

Pausing also helps to…

Prevent Burnout and Sustain Engagement

Pausing and disconnecting can help you avoid burnout and sustain your energy levels. Taking small reflective breaks have shown to significantly reduces stress and prevents burnout in senior leaders.

Boost Creativity and Innovation

Pausing to take a break boosts innovation and performance and promotes creative thinking. That is why we often get great ideas in the shower or while taking a walk. The result? Enhanced problem-solving abilities!

Develop Strategic Thinking

When you pause and reflect, you can maintain your focus on your long-term goals and the bigger picture. You won't be as bogged down by everyday operations, which is crucial for keeping a strategic leadership approach. This is what your people need!

Take it from the East and the West, there is real power in pausing. So, I ask you this… is it time for you to pause and take it slow?

If you’d like to talk more about embracing your pause as a leader, schedule a call today hello@maahapeople.com