In a world where speed is often celebrated and efficiency is prioritized, it's easy to find ourselves caught up in the rush of work. Maybe you are running a business and feel the pressure of holding it all together or the weight of a mission centered on community members who need you. We're constantly bombarded with messages telling us to do more, be more, and achieve more, often at the expense of our own well-being. I think our businesses and organizations need us to challenge this cultural norm. Also, this is hard.

I am personally working to create space for slowing down and feeling the journey more than the end result. I say working, because I’m not good at it yet. Research tells us that it is not only beneficial for individuals but also essential for creating a healthier, more sustainable internal culture. I see two major benefits of slowing down – both of which are necessary ingredients for business and organizational success:

Creativity and Innovation:

Some of the greatest ideas and innovations are born out of moments of stillness and reflection. When we slow down, we give ourselves the space to think creatively and explore new possibilities. In the office, this looks like blocking some time to just think instead of just executing. This takes some proactive actions on your part to guard your calendar and to really scrutinize what is urgent and what is emerging.

Connection and Relationships:

In our quest for efficiency, we often neglect the importance of human connection. Slowing down enables us to cultivate deeper and more meaningful relationships with others. This is especially important on shared journeys through conflict. There is a significant amount of grieving taking place in this post-Covid space of the workplace. I know you are sick of hearing about it, but in our rush to re-open and get back to normal, we are ignoring permanent changes in beliefs and behaviors, and this is creating conflict between the before, the current, and the unknown future.  

Therefore, my advice to managers:

1. Lead by example, be a role model for slowing down at work. Examine critical and nice-to-haves. If you read this and you are annoyed ask yourself what must get done, what should get done, what causes a risk if it is not done? Then go to your calendar two weeks from now and block a 1-hour thought break. If you have to look out further, do it. The key is to block it.

2. See a conflict and give it space. Do not let producing a statement or creating a policy be the determinant of your timeline. Hard things need space and time – brains need to reflect and reimagine. Humans need to interact and question and brainstorm. Rushing to finish is causing more problems in your workspace.

I’ll just come back to…this is hard, and I’m not excelling here. I am committing to it and trying and seeing each bump in the road as an experiment to try to do it differently. Then reviewing the data and seeing what I learned.