The power of pause: why resilient leaders make the biggest impact

In a world where change is constant and pressure is high, leaders are often expected to move faster, think bigger and deliver more - often with less. 

And this works, until it doesn’t anymore, because:

▪️ More speed does not always mean more impact.
▪️ ‘Hustle’ does not automatically lead to alignment.
▪️And powering through without pausing will quietly drain the very energy needed to lead well.

For senior executives and founders especially, the leadership expectations are enormous: to always deliver bold results, uphold purpose every day, lead through complexity (often with a smile) and adapt in real-time to everything and anything new. 

And that is great!

Yet, what is often overlooked, in my opinion, is the quiet, radical power of self-awareness, self-reflection and resilience.

Because without them, leaders don’t lead, they react.
And let’s be honest, ‘reactive leadership’ is just not sustainable, strategic or successful in the long run.

Leadership needs to be redefined in a way that feels simple yet not simplistic. 

I usually tell clients that leadership is a positive set of inclusive behaviours that inspire, influence and guide others to achieve a set of goals and/or a mission.

I love this definition because it enables me to advise clients that great leadership actually starts with them first. They have to define what inclusive behaviours they want to showcase first. In order to do this, they need to dig deep, much deeper than the old mandate of leadership. 

The new mandate for leadership therefore becomes: ‘press pause, reflect then act’

Something interesting to acknowledge is perhaps that most high-level leaders didn’t rise by slowing down. They got here by showing up, working hard AND solving problems. 

Yet, in 2025 and beyond, leadership requires more than output. It requires inner awareness.

It means learning to press pause, not because you are unsure, yet because you are wise enough to know that true impactful problem solving requires clarity and creativity, which in turn require space.

Why does this matter, you ask?

Because resilient leaders are not just strong, which is often how they are portrayed. They are first and foremost strategic and future focussed.
They understand that consistent high performance doesn’t come from perfection, it comes from presence over perfection - from the ability to show up, listen deeply, adapt thoughtfully and lead with clarity, even when things feel uncertain, hard or uncomfortable.

Resilience is THE skill to embrace more than yesterday

As Mark Nepo beautifully reminds us: ‘we are stronger, gentler, more resilient and more beautiful than we imagine.’

And we only discover this when we allow ourselves to pause, reflect and reconnect to ourselves.

In my opinion, resilience isn’t just about ‘bouncing back.’ It’s about moving forward, deliberately, with lessons learned, energy preserved and vision renewed.

▪️ It protects us from burnout.
▪️ It allows us to stay open, even when we are under pressure.
▪️ And it gives us the emotional range to lead people, not just projects.

A definition of resilience I share with clients is ‘the ability to reset, learn and grow by showing up and trying our best, especially when things are uncertain or hard.’

What resilience is not: grit, perfection or suppressing feelings.

It’s practical: noticing, naming and choosing useful next steps.

How it shows up in leadership (on an ordinary Tuesday):

• You anchor to purpose (why this matters) and simplify the next action.

• You regulate first, then respond - a breath, a pause, a clearer choice.

• You test small, learn fast and adjust without drama.

• You protect the basics - sleep, movement, boundaries - because ‘energy is strategy’.

• You create psychological safety so honesty travels faster than fear.

To me, working on my resilience enables me to choose joy everyday, which enables me to show up as a leader and deliver my best.

3 practices that help build better leaders

Here are 3 essential habits that future-fit founders and execs are embracing:

1. Self-awareness as strategy

It’s not a luxury to really connect to ourselves, it’s a leadership skill and it’s actually pretty smart. The best leaders check in with themselves before they check out from their teams. They know their emotional triggers, values and energy patterns. They choose intention over impulse. They talk about it and actually practice what they talk about too. Integrity matters greatly here.

2. Resilience through recovery, not resistance

‘You can’t pour from an empty cup’, they say, I add, you cannot pour from a cracked one either. Resilience grows when recovery is prioritised. That doesn’t mean that you must take a sabbatical every time things get hard 😉 but it does mean embedding moments of recovery into your work rhythm. For me, it even means being intentional in choosing joy every day, as one of the fastest ways to refuel that capacity.

3. Reflection before action

High performers often default to ‘doing doing doing.’ But leading in uncertain times requires thinking differently, not just doing more.

Try this: Use the 3Rs Model each month:

• Review: What’s working / not working?

• Reframe: What am I learning from this?

• Reset: What needs to shift in me or my leadership?

Better leadership. More impact. More joy.

When senior leaders centre resilience, reflection and emotional agility, the ripple effect is enormous:

✔️ Teams feel safer, clearer and more energised
✔️ Cultures become more adaptable and collaborative
✔️ Innovation increases and burnout decreases
✔️ Leaders stay connected to their why, not just their to-do list
✔️ Decision quality rises while decision time shrinks
✔️ Priorities get sharper and meetings get shorter
✔️ Feedback flows faster and conflicts resolve sooner
✔️ Engagement, retention and performance all improve
✔️ Clients feel the difference in consistency and care

Final thoughts for now

The truth is: leadership is not just a skillset, it is really a state of being.

In this fast-moving and uncertain world, the leaders who pause on purpose are the ones who lead with the most clarity, creativity and courage.

In a nutshell, leading in uncertain times requires:

• Presence over perfection: a clear purpose with flexible plans, realistic optimism and small, reversible bets that you learn from, fast

• Early communication, simply and often

• A focus on creating psychological safety so truth travels quickly

• Regulation of your own state to steady others. 

It is basically equal parts humility and decisiveness - listen deeply, decide with the best available data and adjust without drama as conditions change.

So the next time everything feels urgent, remember, you are allowed to slow down to speed up.

Your leadership - and your wellbeing - will thank you for it! ☺️

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If you want to embed resilience into your leadership , in a way that fuels high performance, let’s chat.
Through our executive coaching and inclusive leadership L&D programmes, we help leaders practise the skills that shift culture from the inside out.
✔️ Fill in this form and Vanessa will be in touch to explore how we can make it real in your organisation.

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