It’s not always the change that unsettles us. More often, it’s the space between.
The part after the known ends, but before the new begins. A space where your strategies go quiet, momentum stalls, and the familiar no longer fits.
Most leaders I work with have faced that space. Many are in it right now.
They’ve navigated success. They’ve built systems. They’ve led teams through complex change. But then something shifts—maybe business or internal—and suddenly, they’re standing in a room they didn’t expect to enter. There are no clear answers and no fast wins. Just stillness. And that stillness feels… foreign.
I’ve been in that room myself.
Years ago, I found myself at a professional turning point. On paper, things looked solid. But internally, something had gone quiet. The goals I had chased began to feel disconnected from the person I was becoming. I kept looking for the next step, but the clarity I relied on—the compass that always pointed north—wasn’t there.
At first, I tried to problem-solve my way through it. I leaned harder into a structure, created action plans, and chased clarity like it was just one more strategy session away.
It wasn’t.
The more I tried to rush through the discomfort, the more it resisted me. It wasn’t a problem to solve—it was a space to be in. And that was the hardest thing to accept.
Stillness Isn’t a Stall—It’s a Signal
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle introduced me to something I hadn’t been trained for: presence. Not the performative kind we speak about in executive coaching circles—not “being present” in the room while mentally juggling 12 priorities—but deep presence—the kind that invites stillness, that allows awareness to emerge without urgency.
In that quiet space, something unexpected happened.
The pressure to fix lifted.
The noise subsided.
And clarity—the kind that doesn’t scream but whispers—began to surface.
Stillness isn’t a stall. It’s a signal. A moment asking not for movement but for attention. A space between identities, strategies, and outcomes—where something new wants to emerge, but only if you let go of the need to control it.
This is where real leadership begins—not in knowing but in noticing, not in pushing forward but in standing still—long enough to hear the subtle cues within yourself and your environment.
Leading from the In-Between
I’ve come to believe that every high-performing leader must, at some point, enter this space between. Not just once, but again and again—at inflection points, moments of transition, and especially after what should feel like a win.
And each time, the same invitation returns:
- Will you resist this space—or will you respect it?
- Will you rush to reestablish control—or pause long enough to receive direction?
- Will you lead from habit—or presence?
This space tests us—not our knowledge, but our willingness to unlearn.
Not our strength but our stillness. Not our speed, but our depth.
In my coaching practice, I’ve observed that leaders who honor the in-between emerge with greater clarity, deeper trust in themselves, and a presence that resonates far beyond titles or strategies. Their teams feel it, their decisions reflect it, and their impact expands.
They stop leading from urgency and begin leading from awareness.
A Quiet Prompt
If you find yourself in a space where the old no longer fits, and the new hasn’t yet arrived, know this:
You’re not lost. You’re arriving.
Presence isn’t the absence of action—it’s the beginning of conscious choice. And in a world demanding constant motion, your stillness might be your most significant form of leadership. So, let me leave you with this quiet prompt:
What’s here—right now—that you’ve been too busy to notice?
If this resonates, I’d be honored to explore that space with you because leadership isn’t just about where you’re going. It’s about how you show up in the space between. Let’s connect.