When crisis explodes onto the scene—when radical change knocks your team off balance and the solid ground beneath you liquifies—what do you do?
First, a Story
Imagine you’re in Round 3 of a 5-round championship fight—the fight of your life. The bell rings after another barrage of disorienting blows to your head. You stumble to the corner, where you have one minute to breathe. What will it take to shift momentum and keep your shot at victory alive? Your coach steps in.
This isn’t just a metaphor—when extreme crisis hits your life, the same desperate need for clarity takes hold. Firm ground beneath you collapses. Stress spikes. Vision narrows. Survival mode takes over, shutting down creativity, collaboration, and forward thinking. Just like in a fight, those brief moments “between rounds” can make all the difference.
But what if you’re not the fighter? What if you’re the coach? Your team is in the ring taking blows and looking to you for clarity.
And Here’s the Leadership Challenge:
Unlike a ringside coach, you’re not just watching—you’re in the fight too, taking hits of your own. You and your team need a moment to breathe, reframe, and regain your footing. Creating this pause is crucial to your effectiveness.
The Power of a Pause
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
— Attributed to Viktor Frankl
In times of adversity, when the hits keep coming, exceptional leaders and their teams don’t stubbornly cling to a failing strategy. Instead, they step back, reset, and refocus—creating the space to respond with clarity. They build in productive pauses.
Breathe. Think. Act.
When adversity mounts, step out of the line of fire for a moment and:
🔹 BREATHE – Create space to reset.
🔹 THINK – Gain clarity and perspective.
🔹 ACT – Discern the next move and execute.
Step 1: BREATHE
Actions:
➡️ Convene the team. Check in—”How are you doing?” Remind them: “We are a team. You’re not in this alone.”
➡️ Call it out. Candidly name frustrations, concerns, and fears. Put them on the table.
➡️ Anchor to mission. Reconnect with the deeper why—the most meaningful part of your work and who you are called to serve.
Outcomes:
✔️ Lowers heart rate and stress levels.
✔️ Builds human connection, purpose, and resilience.
✔️ Helps teammates shift from reaction to reflection, activating a growth mindset and opening them to new perspectives.
Step 2: THINK
Actions:
➡️ Expand understanding. Cross-level knowledge, hear different perspectives, and get clear on the brutal facts of reality.
➡️ Challenge assumptions. Question mental models, beliefs, and what might be holding you/us back. Engage coaches, advisors, and dissenting voices.
➡️ Visualize new paths. What’s working? What opportunities exist inside the challenge? See possibilities and shift into a more creative, adaptive mindset.
Outcomes:
✔️ Deeper understanding of the situation.
✔️ Breaks free from old thinking patterns.
✔️ Generates new ideas, energy, and optimism.
Step 3: ACT
Actions:
➡️ Own what’s ours. Focus on what we can control, release what we can’t.
➡️ Design the next move. Make it specific and concrete—even a small experiment to test assumptions.
➡️ Stay adaptive. The situation will change—stay agile, ready to pivot as new insights and challenges emerge. FLOW!
Outcomes:
✔️ Creates movement! Thought alone doesn’t create change—action does.
✔️ Generates momentum and learning.
✔️ Keeps you engaged and evolving—not stuck.
Be Like Water: The Adaptive Mindset
“Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow. Be like water.”
— Bruce Lee (1940–1973)
Back To Our Championship Fight
What happens between Rounds 3 and 4 when we apply the Productive Pause framework?
🔹 Step 1: BREATHE. Coach directs the fighter to take deep breaths while applying ice to his chest and back. [Regaining composure, lowering heart rate.] “How are you feeling?” he asks, while the cut man tends to the bleeding. [Addressing real wounds and assessing the fighter’s mental state.] Then, the coach anchors to the mission: “You came here to be a champion.”
🔹 Step 2: THINK. Coach gets clear on the brutal facts and uses the pressure to unlock a path forward: “You’re down two rounds to one. You will only win if you change your approach. What did you do to win Round 2?” They zero in on what worked. “That’s right—he can’t handle your front leg kicks. That’s when he’s open for the takedown.” [Seeing the situation clearly. Shifting focus to what’s effective.]
🔹 Step 3: ACT. Coach sharpens focus: “Punish his leg! Flow from there.” The fighter nods. [A concrete action. A rallying point. A shift into a more creative, instinctive state.]
Conclusion
In closing, remember that leadership through adversity is an ongoing cycle of action and reflection. Don’t just absorb blows while clinging to a failing strategy. Build the habit—an essential organizational routine—of creating productive pauses for yourself and your team. Step out of the line of fire to breathe, think, and act. That’s how you regroup, adapt, and turn adversity into victory.