Learning to Pause: A Leader’s Daily Discipline

(Blog #5)

In the pace of school life, or any leadership role, it is easy to become reactive. The emails, the questions, the decisions, the unexpected issues, all pulling us from moment to moment.

Today, mid-morning, I caught myself in that pattern. Moving too fast. Thinking ahead to the next five things before finishing the one in front of me. So I stopped. Just for five minutes. I stepped outside, took a slow walk around the school grounds, breathed, and let my mind settle. No phone. No to-do list. Just presence. When I returned, everything felt different. More clarity. More perspective. More ability to lead with intention, not just momentum.

Leadership is not just about action, it is also about attention. And sometimes the most important discipline is learning to pause, even briefly, so that when we move forward, we do so with greater wisdom.

So here is today’s reflection:

Where, in your day, could you create space to pause, even for a few minutes, to lead with more clarity and presence?

It is not wasted time. It is often the wisest time.

Mark Pollitt, Founder of Seeds of Knowledge