The Power of the Pause

by | Apr 1, 2025 | Conversations

“Keep it simple and focus on what matters.

Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed.” – Confucius

The Power of the Pause

Congratulations to our co-founder Adrienne on rocking her TEDx talk on the Power of the Pause. She did it! We’ll keep you posted when it’s published. You won’t want to miss it!

The PAUSE framework emerged from Adrienne’s personal struggles with the symptoms of living and doing from a reactive state. She learns what she teaches, teaches as she learns!

A Leadership Beyond emerged as we saw our synergy and had big ideas, inspiring possibilities of working together. COVID struck and voila, “we can’t do this!” We pulled over, asking, “what can we do?”

We’ve gone from lunch and learn, to blog, to podcast, to community of conversation.

We think you’ll enjoy this insightful conversation between co-founders Adrienne Guerrero and Tom Rosenak, as we discuss Adrienne’s recent TEDx experience, the framework, and how this concept can help leaders navigate today’s fast-paced, distraction-filled environment.

Key Highlights:

  • The PAUSE Framework: A practical approach for leaders to escape reactivity and make strategic decisions:
    • Pull over: Find your technique to calm your mind (meditation, breathing, movement)
    • Assess: Ask “what is true” and “what needs to be true” challenging your assumptions
    • U turn: Uncover possible options after grounding in values
    • Start: Take action, no matter how small
    • Evaluate: Reflect and determine next steps
  • The Strategic Value: In today’s VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) environment:
    • Leaders often sacrifice strategy for tactical “box-checking”
    • The pause framework helps identify what truly matters versus mere motion
    • Small, intentional steps can create meaningful progress toward important goals
  • Our Community Support:
    • Practical tools to make strategic pausing easier, including assessments, frameworks, and execution support
    • Accountability and guidance through workshops, executive coaching, and change leadership support.
    • Help with staying focused on what you’re “counting on to win” rather than being pulled into constant reactivity

We’d love to hear from you! What has your experience been with strategic pausing? We invite you to share your thoughts and experiences. Your insights enrich our community and conversation.

Adrienne & Tom