A consistent theme we see in today’s fast-paced, high-pressure work environments, is leaders and teams reacting to challenges rather than proactively anticipating or addressing them.

Even as the year begins, we are hearing concerns about:

• Surprise departures of key team members
• People burning out without leaders noticing and realising
• Individuals feeling alone in bearing heavy responsibilities and expectations
• Tension within and across teams as heavy workloads and constant change mount
• Change initiatives slowed down due to conflicting priorities between multiple initiatives
• Risks not being addressed despite being raised several times

These are early signs that leaders and teams need to pause, take stock and have the important conversations, and not let them get lost in the prevailing busyness.

The Consequences of Operating Under Constant Pressure

Relentless pressure significantly hampers our ability to think creatively and strategically. The human brain, when overwhelmed, defaults to survival mode, focusing only on the immediate problem rather than the broader context and possible solutions. This results in:

• Limited creativity: With no mental bandwidth, fresh ideas and innovative solutions are stifled.
• Narrowed thinking: Instead of considering multiple perspectives, decision-making becomes rigid and reactive.
• Poor collaboration: Without space, there is little room for deep listening, meaningful connection, or effective teamwork.
• Delayed solutions: Waiting until a crisis forces us to slow down which is often too late
• Preventable risks: Causing problems which could have been anticipated and avoided

In the article ‘The Neuroscience Of Conversations: Why Leaders Should Rethink Meetings’, leadership consultant Scott Hutcheson shares neuroscience research on how the stress hormone cortisol diminishes our executive functioning, affecting our creative problem solving, emotional regulation, and complex thinking capabilities. On the flipside, the presence of psychological safety activates the trust-building hormone oxytocin, which enhances empathy, collaboration and openness.

Stress and pressure lead to poor thinking and low levels of collaboration which result in problems remaining unresolved. The unresolved problems create inefficiency and further busyness, but we are too busy to solve them.  We intuitively know this, but it’s so difficult to create space in the midst of the pressure. Our teams and organisations end up stuck.

Our Inability to Slow Down

One of the reasons we resist taking a pause can be the fear of what we might uncover. Slowing down to reflect may reveal the true extent of the challenges—burnout levels, cultural dysfunction, unsustainable workloads – none of which have simple solutions.

There is also the fear of missing immediate deadlines, leading to prioritising urgent rather than important issues.

Failing to create space to think only delays problems and often exacerbates their impact. By the time a crisis hits, organisations often find themselves stuck in a reactionary cycle. Worse, some crises bring everything to a grinding halt.

Learning to Slow Down Constructively

“We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them” – Albert Einstein

Without creating sufficient space, it is very difficult to address issues from a higher level of thinking.

The challenge lies not only in overcoming the fear of slowing down, but also in knowing how to slow down effectively. Simply pausing for the sake of it is not enough; space must be used constructively, creatively, and collaboratively.

Some critical ingredients to ensure space is constructive:

• Get focused – Agree on how to spend the time together in conversation, including a clear focus and purpose. Choose something important and worth the collective effort.
• Be fully present – Commit to being fully present, mentally, emotionally, energetically, so that the collective thinking can be listened to and evolve.
• Build and maintain psychological safety – Model vulnerability, encourage open dialogue, invite and welcome different views, listen deeply, and respond constructively.
• Think deeply and systemically – Instead of addressing surface-level symptoms, look at the deeper systemic causes and patterns.
• Allow new thinking to emerge – Hold back from identifying solutions too early, as they tend to be based on existing knowledge. Stay with inquiry to allow new ideas to emerge.

Facilitated, structured dialogue methods can ensure these conversations are productive and encourage open, creative, and strategic problem-solving that goes beyond the usual solutions.

Breaking the Cycle

Without intentional efforts to create space for thinking, organisations become trapped in a cycle of crisis management, never addressing the root causes of their struggles. When we are unable to break free from this reactive mindset, the same problems will keep reoccurring. However, when we have the courage to pause, reflect, and engage in meaningful conversations, we can create a more resilient, creative, and adaptive organisation where proactive, thoughtful decision-making is the norm.

So, the real question is: Are you creating the space to think before a crisis forces you to?s are people receiving from your leadership behaviours?

Written by Megumi Miki, with Anna Reeve and Leigh Gassner, co-founders of Leaders who Listen. We aim to develop leaders who create a listening environment of safety and space within their organisations to enable better decision making, drive growth and innovation, enhance collaboration and inclusion, and manage risk. If you’d like to understand how your leadership team can engage in productive disagreements, contact us about our Leaders who Listen assessment tools, presentations, masterclasses and development programs.