Do you know many leaders who strive to be “in the weeds” or labeled as “short-term thinkers?” Probably not, but many leaders find themselves exhibiting these traits during times of stress. When pressed, these leaders will admit that they were acting this way unconsciously and were not aware of the behavior in the moment. People seldom start their day saying, “Today I will frustrate lots of people!” However, that is what people who do not exhibit the ability to prioritize issues, think strategically, and empower others do when they do not honor the Power of the Pause. The Power of the Pause is simply the intentional act of leaders who make a habit of taking a few moments each day to think critically about the tasks at hand and align their behaviors with their priorities.
Not recognizing and activating the Power of the Pause, can be the root of poor leadership behavior. Imagine a professional tennis player starting practice by adjusting the ball machine 30% above the pace they know they can handle. No matter how good they are, when the balls start approaching at an unreasonable speed, they will feel overwhelmed and exhausted from frantically swinging at the balls being hurled their way. The only way to be successful in this scenario is to take a pause, adjust the machine, and then determine which balls to swing at.
Think about those tennis balls again. Imagine they are the opportunities or challenges that are hurled at us each day. When we do not pause and determine a strategy to identify and prioritize them, we run the risk of hitting the wrong ones or missing the right ones. In the absence of clarity, all balls look alike, and we will tend to try to return all of them. We lose the ability to prioritize, delegate for development, or even seek feedback. Only by discipling ourselves to pause, can we ask ourselves which balls are truly our responsibility, which ones we could allow others to take, and which ones have no value.
Exercising intentional pauses throughout the day creates positive energy by increasing our resilience and our ability to deal with more complex issues in leadership. There are several ways to pause, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
- Spend some time early each week focusing on what is most important to focus on during the week to accomplish your overall goals.
- Pause each day by taking a walk, block out 20 minutes of reflection in your daily calendar, or simply schedule a recurring high-quality coffee break away from your office to focus/refocus on your priorities.
- Spend some time at the end of the day reviewing your progress towards goals and listing what needs to be accomplished towards those goals the next day.
The essential Power of the Pause is that it regularly creates the time and space you need to empty your mind to then reflect and filter the issues and challenges that leaders face daily.
We would love to hear how you exercise the power of the pause in your life.
