Use the power pause to avoid over reacting under stress. The more stress we’re under, the more easily and quickly we’re triggered to over react. Since the stress isn’t letting up, leaders need solutions and they need them fast.
Origins of the Power Pause
“I just need to pause and take a step back.”
I hear that phrase from many leaders I work with. They recognize the negative consequences of reacting versus responding. People aren’t speaking up. They’re more risk averse. Meetings are low energy and stale. So are the solutions they produce, because the real goal is to stay safe. Fear is not an effective leadership style.
It happens at home too.
One executive shared an incident that occurred after a week of international travel. He arrived home tired, worn out and jet lagged. He needed rest but chose to spend quality time with family instead. While out to dinner, he snapped at a waiter over a minor problem.
“My wife pulled me aside to tell me I was impatient, had no compassion, and was being a terrible role model for the kids. She was right. I should have paused to take a breath.”
The Problem – Your Brain is Offline
When your brain perceives a threat, the amygdala sends an alarm that hits your fight flight freeze switch. It shuts down the part of your brain responsible for time consuming thinking, which isn’t helpful when you’re eye to eye with a tiger. You literally flip your lid, aka pre-frontal cortex, the area right behind your forehead and the engine for:
- Self-awareness
- Empathy
- Compassion
- Self reflection
- Identifying and weighing potential consequences
The Solution – Bring Your Brain Back Online
Your brain doesn’t distinguish between emotional and physical threats. It has one on/off switch that services both. If you’re late for an important meeting, face a mountain of critical issues at work, or get in an argument with someone, your body can react as if it’s a life-or-death situation. When you continuously face these kinds of situations, the stress system itself gets stressed. As a result, your threat alarm is triggered easier and faster and it’s harder to calm the reactions it generates.
Meditation reduces stress. It’s why so many people are taking time to tune out the noise of every day life and tune into the breath. The more you meditate the less prone you are to react under stress. When you do get triggered, the power pause allows you to recover quickly in real time, when you need it most.
To practice the power pause take a breath while purposefully focusing your attention on the intake and outflow. Feel your body let go and relax down as you let the air out of your stress balloon. Ahhh. One simple breath can settle your nervous system enough to quiet the signals between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. The pause allows your thinking to come back online. In the time and space of pausing to take a breath, you avoid over-reacting and can choose your response instead.
How Leaders Practice the Power Pause
Amy is participating in a mindfulness program for physician leaders where I offered this reminder.
In any moment the only thing you’re required to do is take the next breath. That breath will breathe itself.
Amy brought that phrase to mind when she felt overwhelmed at work. After pausing and focusing on the next breath, she felt more at ease.
Suresh is a high tech VP who comes down hard on people when he’s impatient. We identified early warning signals that he’s about to shift into his trigger zone. He now uses these signs to power pause instead. Deep breath in, breath out. Then he asks himself:
- Do I want to say something? If yes,
- Why?
- When?
- What?
In any moment, your next breath is all that’s required.