Courageous Pauses: What Leaders Do When the Path Isn’t Clear

Leadership in education is often described as charting the course and inspiring others to follow. However, anyone who has lived in the daily realities of a school or district knows that leadership is far less about certainty and far more about discernment. Leaders who can slow down, listen deeply, and interpret what a community truly needs can go to great lengths. That kind of leadership requires something deceptively simple and profoundly brave: the courage to pause. 

Taking an intentional pause as a leader is not hesitation or indecision. It is not a lack of clarity or confidence. A courageous pause is a deliberate act, one that creates an intentional slowing to make meaning, to separate the noise of the daily work from the signals of need from our system. This allows a leader to ensure the next step is aligned with purpose and people. 

This blog explores what research tells us about pausing in leadership, why reflective pacing matters, and how mindful deceleration strengthens adult learning, implementation, and trust. Throughout, you’ll find places to layer in your own leadership experiences. It is encouraged to engage in reflective moments where pausing can shape connection, clarity, or culture. 

Pauses Are Not Passive: They Are a Discipline of Leadership 

Pausing requires emotional regulation, professional maturity, and deep care for the adults in the system. Adaptive leadership researchers remind us that leadership is not about having the answers but about “holding steady” in the uncertainty long enough to observe what is truly happening beneath the surface (Heifetz, Grashow, & Linsky, 2009). In their work, the pause is not a break from leadership. It is leadership. 

In school systems, this looks like: 

• a principal who delays a rushed initiative rollout to gather real input 

• a district leader who slows implementation so teams can align to shared purpose 

• a coach who chooses listening over solutioning in a moment of discomfort 

• a leader who says, “We don’t need to decide today. Let’s understand more first.” 

The research is unequivocal: leaders who pause create better conditions for learning, innovation, and trust. Amy Edmondson’s foundational research on psychological safety found that teams performed better, made fewer errors, and engaged more deeply in learning when leaders modeled reflective behavior and slowed the pace to reduce fear of judgment (Edmondson, 1999; Edmondson, 2019). Pausing is an intervention that shapes the emotional climate of a team. 

Leadership Reflection: Why I Ask Teams to Slow Down 

In my work supporting district and school teams through the state’s continuous improvement model, I often encourage leaders to resist the understandable urge to jump straight into new action. Early in the pathway, teams want to fix, build, or implement something immediately. However, the initial stages of improvement work are intentionally designed for slowing down: scanning the system, gathering insight, and grounding decisions in shared understanding. 

Teams often need reminders that this slower pacing is not a barrier to progress; it is what protects the work from misalignment. As teams move through the pathway, district leaders frequently tell me how grounding it is to realign to this purpose: “We are working to really see and know the system before we shape the system.” When teams pause long enough to identify what is already working: existing strengths, celebrations, and practices that can be leveraged; they avoid rebuilding structures that already exist or attempting too many new actions at once. 

A leader who gives the team permission to take stock, engage in learning, or ask more questions creates the conditions for a sustainable and doable action plan. Sometimes, the pause is also about celebration or identifying staff who can be empowered as champions, inventorying strong practices, recalibrating communication, or simply recentering the team’s purpose.  

The pace of change is not a sprint; it's an ultramarathon. The slower stages are expected, necessary, and often a sign that the team is doing its most thoughtful work. 

The Courage to Pause When the Path Isn’t Clear 

Uncertainty is not a threat to leadership; it’s an invitation. The Spirals of Inquiry framework (Timperley, Kaser, & Halbert, 2014) reminds us that meaningful improvement begins when leaders slow down enough to see clearly. The early phases (scanning, checking, and reflecting) are intentionally paced to help leaders understand the lived experiences of educators and students before deciding what needs to change. 

When pressure mounts, teams often reach for fast solutions that feel productive in the moment but miss deeper needs. A courageous pause interrupts that instinct. It gives leaders space to name what they're noticing, reconnect to purpose, and consider the readiness and capacity of the adults who will carry out the work.  

This slower, more thoughtful calibration strengthens coherence and protects relational trust. Robinson, Lloyd, and Rowe’s (2008) analysis of 49 leadership studies found that reflective, evidence-based leadership practices consistently outperformed faster, directive approaches. They also found that these behaviors had a significantly stronger impact on student outcomes than more direct, managerial forms of leadership. In other words, slowing down to interpret data, asking better questions, and recalibrating strategies is not only effective; it is more effective than speed. 

Pausing is not evidence of indecision. It is disciplined leadership that ensures direction, coherence, and sustainability. 

Your Pace Sets the Temperature of the Room 

Your pace becomes your team’s pace. Your calm becomes your team’s calm. Your steadiness becomes your team’s sense of safety. In their research on resonant leadership, Boyatzis and McKee (2005) found that leaders influence the “emotional field” of their organizations. When leaders slow their pace by reflecting, listening, and regulating their presence, they create environments where educators feel: 

• safer to ask questions 
• more willing to try new practices 
• more grounded during change 
• better able to collaborate 
• less overwhelmed by shifting expectations 

In moments of cognitive overload or change fatigue (conditions many educators experience frequently), your willingness to slow down creates a culture of humility over haste. It reinforces that people matter as much as outcomes, and that clarity is more important than speed. 

How Leaders Signal a Courageous Pause: 

• Name the ambiguity. “We don’t have all the information yet, and that’s okay. Let’s create action steps around collecting the data or information we need to make informed decisions.” 
• Slow the conversation. “Let’s think aloud together before we move to the next steps. Having all of the options on the table will allow us to make better decisions together.” 
• Invite meaning-making. “What patterns are emerging? What are we learning? How do we know?” 
• Protect educators from urgency. “We are not rushing implementation today. We are seeking sustainable change and measurable impact.” 
• Recenter purpose. “Before we decide, let’s revisit why this matters and who our decision impacts."

These small acts build psychological safety and coherence across a team. 

It’s okay to pause to celebrate, whether that means identifying staff who can be empowered as champions, taking inventory of practices already working, recalibrating communication, or simply returning to purpose. These moments of intentional stillness strengthen the team and reinforce that meaningful change is a marathon, paced with care. 

A Reflection Prompt for Leadership Growth 

Before moving forward, take a moment to pause. Research shows that leaders who create space for personal reflection make more purposeful, grounded decisions. This practice begins by noticing your own patterns. Consider the questions below as an invitation to slow down, breathe, and realign with what your team truly needs. 

A Courageous Pause for You: 

• Where in your leadership do you need a pause right now? 
• What would a courageous pause help you see more clearly? 
• Which educators or adults in your building could benefit from reduced urgency? 
• What pressures (internal or external) are pushing you toward speed over clarity? 
• How might pausing today protect trust, coherence, or alignment tomorrow? 

Courageous pauses are not the absence of action. They are the foundation of intentional action. When leaders stay grounded in purpose, empower the adults in their buildings, and slow the pace enough to see clearly, they create the conditions for clarity, connection, and collective growth. In a world that rewards speed, choosing to pause is one of the greatest acts of leadership courage. 

If your reflection surfaced a question, tension, or curiosity you want to explore, we would love to hear from you. Your insights help shape the resources, tools, and conversations we create at Making Champions of Change. 

• Share your reflections or learning needs: Click Here!
• Connect for a deeper conversation or thought partnership: Click Here! 

If this message resonated with you, please consider sharing it with another leader who might need the reminder that they’re not doing this work alone. Your experiences help grow a community of connected, purpose-driven leaders, because we are better together. 

References 

Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999 

Edmondson, A. C. (2019). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. Wiley. 

Heifetz, R., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world. Harvard Business Press. 

Timperley, H., Kaser, L., & Halbert, J. (2014). A framework for transforming learning in schools: Innovation and the spiral of inquiry. Centre for Strategic Education. 

Robinson, V. M. J., Lloyd, C. A., & Rowe, K. J. (2008). The impact of leadership on student outcomes: An analysis of the differential effects of leadership types. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(5), 635–674. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X08321509 

Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2005). Resonant leadership: Renewing yourself and connecting with others through mindfulness, hope, and compassion. Harvard Business School Press.