The Power of the Pause

Busy is a badge in most organisations. But the teams who struggle most aren’t short of talent — they’re short of space. In this episode, Jackie Grier makes the case for the pause as a leadership discipline, not a luxury. Walking through the four stages of the Courage into Clarity framework — Courage, Clarity, Alignment, Action — she explores why stopping takes nerve, how courage produces clarity, what a team pause does for psychological safety and wellbeing, and why paused action is better action. Includes a short guided breathing practice and three pauses to try with your team this week. In this episode • 1:00 Why this matters • 2:30 Why we don’t pause • 5:00 Stage one: Courage • 7:30 Stage two: Clarity • 10:30 Stage three: Alignment • 13:30 Stage four: Action • 15:30 Three pauses to try this week • 18:00 Close Three pauses to try • The ninety-second pause: three cyclic sighs and one question — “What do I actually want from this?” • The pause point: anyone can stop the conversation to ask “What are we missing? Who haven’t we heard from?” • White space in the diary: ten minutes between meetings — agreed as a team. References mentioned • Microsoft Human Factors Lab (2021). Research Proves Your Brain Needs Breaks. Microsoft WorkLab, Work Trend Index. • Balban, M.Y. et al. (2023). Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine, 4(1). • Kline, N. (1999). Time to Think: Listening to Ignite the Human Mind. Ward Lock. • Edmondson, A.C. (2018). The Fearless Organization. Wiley.