When information comes at us – such as in an email, message, or feedback – our brain can get activated and we can end up reacting in ways we later regret. When we react instead of thoughtfully respond, it can cause misunderstanding, hurt feelings, and damage our professional reputation.

The good news is that there’s a simple leadership tool that can help you put space in between the information coming your way and what you do or say next. This leadership tool is, simply, to pause. Pausing allows for possibility, as it’s the place where we can create our choices about how to approach and manage a situation, given how we want to show up and what our goals are.

In this episode, Leadership Coach Deb Elbaum discusses the power of the pause, why you need to practice it for you, and how to coach your team members so they can remember to pause, too. If you’re ready to be less reactive and instead seen as a more thoughtful, calm, and compassionate leader, press the play button now.

Full transcript here

If you want to hear more about being less reactive when managing challenging people, listen to this podcast episode.