The Power of the Pause

Today’s guided insight reminds us of the importance of taking a daily pause. A pause is a mental stopping point that gives you the opportunity to make conscious choices about how you lead. It gives you the opportunity to shift out of conditioned responses and into creative ones.

A pause can happen at any moment you choose. In a stressful moment, it can reduce overwhelm. In times of uncertainty, it can provide perspective. In volatile environments, it can help us stay grounded and stable – exactly what our team needs us to be. 

0:00:00 – Intro: Welcome to “On Your Way In”
0:00:18 – Leaders on the Brink: Overload & Burnout
0:00:58 – The Myth of “Be All, Do All”
0:01:22 – Hidden Habits: Not Delegating & Always Saying Yes
0:01:48 – From Spinning to Intentional: There Is a Better Way
0:01:58 – The Power of the Pause
0:02:32 – What a Pause Really Is
0:02:42 – Inviting Creative & Critical Thinking
0:03:05 – Three Questions to Reset Your Leadership
0:04:12 – Guided Setup: Preparing Your Body to Pause
0:04:33 – Guided Practice: “I Take a Daily Pause…”
0:05:38 – Living the Insight: From Pause to Leadership Action
0:06:14 – Closing Reflections & Next Steps

To get the most out of these learnings, download the free workbook I created that guides you deeper into each practice. https://innertelligencecoaching.com/on-your-way-in-workbook/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the podcast On Your Way In, where I provide quick and actionable insights for intentional leaders. I'm your host, Sarah Harvey. Today's guided insight centers around the importance of taking a pause to shift from unconscious and unproductive work habits to conscious choices that deliver on what really matters. Most leaders I work with have plates that are overflowing. They typically are working long hours and weekends, trying to keep anything from falling off and hitting the floor, so to speak. Now, add to the mix volatile markets, uncertain environments, and complex working dynamics, and you've got a formula for overwhelm where mistakes and burnout can easily occur. So, what can you do as a leader to minimize overload while keeping pace with workplace demands? First, check your attitude and mindset around what is enough. If you approach your leadership role with a mindset of be all, do all, I promise you you will end up depleted, out of balance, and less effective. If you tend to want to handle it yourself because you're faster and better at it rather than delegate it, you're setting yourself up for burnout, while your capable team sits unharnessed on the sidelines. If you succumb to always saying yes to new ideas and changes in strategy, you'll find yourself spun out and surrounded by a team who doesn't know what to prioritize. How effective are you really when all you're doing is jumping from one thing to the next, trying to accommodate all requests and demands, and check boxes off your list. There is a better way. As a leader, you want to bring awareness and conscious choice making to your day so that how you and your team spend time aligns to the highest and best outcomes. You do this by getting off the merry-go-round for just a minute and taking a pause. The idea is to interrupt your unconscious habits with a few moments of conscious awareness. So take a pause. In fact, take frequent pauses every day. A pause is a temporary stopping point where you separate yourself from the doing and achieving and bring awareness to your actions and choices. When you stop and take a pause, you're inviting in both creative and critical thinking, two skills that support conscious choice making. Creative thinking opens up new possibilities, while critical thinking helps you synthesize and prioritize logical actions, putting thoughtful reasoning behind why you do what you do. A pause is an opportunity to dig yourself out from under whatever it is that's overloading you by asking yourself a few questions. You can take a pause anywhere, while you're sitting in your car, in the driveway, in your parking lot, in the privacy of your office, while you're exercising, or anywhere in nature? Simply find some time alone, close your eyes, breathe deeply, and ask yourself these three questions. One, is there anything I can start or stop doing to reduce distractions and increase focus? Two, is there anything I can start or stop doing to empower my team to deliver on their commitments? And three, is there anything I should continue to do more of or do less of to achieve our desired results? These three questions help to bring awareness to your leadership approach. They're an opportunity to self-check and consciously choose your actions and behaviors. Now I'm going to ask you to close your eyes if you're in a place where it's safe to do so. Soften your facial muscles and lengthen the back of your neck by tucking your chin just slightly. Sit up straight while dropping your shoulders down to create more comfort in your body. Uncross your legs so your feet are flat on the floor, and place your hands open on your lap with your palms facing up. Now silently begin to repeat the insight. I take a daily pause, then consciously choose my actions. I take a daily pause and then consciously choose my actions. Allow this insight to be gentle and easy, almost as if it's floating by on a cloud, just drifting by. And remember, before you go out, always go in. Thanks for joining me on this episode of On Your Way In. Remember, leadership isn't something you perform, it's something you embody. The more you go inward, the more effective, present, and resilient you become. If today's guided insight was helpful, take a moment to reflect, integrate, and lead using the innate wisdom within you. You can also download the full workbook in the show notes to deepen your practice. Until next time, remember before you go out, go in.