It’s September and in my first week back in meetings and trainings I’m hearing a consistent theme:
People are feeling the pace pick up again.
Fast. And they’re not sure they’re ready for it.
Honestly, neither am I.
What I think is happening is that the relatively slower work pace of the summer allows a state of greater balance between activity and rest, advancement and retreat, making it happen or letting it happen.
In the modern world most of what we think of as success — especially in career — but in other domains of life too, has to do with advancement, achievement, moving quickly, working hard and pushing things forward. All good things, but like anything, when overdone they have a downside.
If all of that activity is the goal, a slower pace or pulling back can feel unambitious or even lazy.
The issue is we are not wired for constant advancement. The work required to achieve and advance takes focus and energy. In essence, it’s a stressor. Stressors can be positive or negative, not all stress is bad or to be avoided, but we are not designed to respond to stress constantly, without sufficient breaks for recovery.
Psychologists call this continuous cognitive activation, where the brain stays in a problem-solving, alert state for long periods of time. However, this kind of attention is actually a limited resource. Our brains and bodies need time to retreat from that state to recover and reactivate. And in the modern world we don’t get a lot of that retreat time.
The benefits of slowing down are actually pretty essential to our effectiveness and eventual success, but they don’t always look like much in the moment. The decreasing cognitive load (the number of things you need to think about on any given day) can actually increase focus and decrease errors. We’ve been learning from research about meditation and mindfulness that coming out of a state of constant alertness or stress responsiveness impacts the balance of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. A calmer nervous system is arguably the biggest benefit.
So many of us don’t even realize we’re in a state of constant alertness, chronic stress response or nervous system overload until we experience some kind of negative health outcome. Then it all makes sense when we look back in the rearview mirror — our lifestyle, our pace, the expectations were not sustainable. But it’s hard to see it in the moment, because culture is rewarding all those things that keep us driving and striving.
For years I’ve been saying one of the most underestimated leadership practices is to just take a break. If we are in constant go mode, we never down-regulate enough to stop, become present, reflect, think, allow new ideas to arrive so that we can start again with fresh eyes.
So yes, I know September just started and it’s a busy time. But if I can give you one piece of leadership advice as you launch into this season, it’s to remember to take a break and pull back sometimes.
Advance without retreat is unsustainable and often means we’re busy doing a lot of things, but we haven’t really stopped to think about whether they’re the right things.
I dive a bit deeper into this in one of our Inspired to Lead series videos. Give it a watch and share it with someone who could use the reminder to take a break:
This season will ask a lot of you. Take the retreat before you need it.
If you or your team could use some support building in more of that balance — advancing and retreating well — reach out. I'd love to help you think it through.
