Sometimes the Most Productive Thing You Can Do… is Stop.

There is something about the holiday season that invites a different rhythm …if we let it.

The calendar slows. Meetings thin out. Emails soften. And yet, so many leaders push right through, exhausted but unwilling to release the grip. We tell ourselves we’ll rest later. After the quarter closes. After the year ends. After the next milestone.

But here’s the unspoken truth: later rarely comes.

Taking a pause isn’t a reward for finishing everything. It’s a leadership decision. One that says: what matters most is that I deserve a time out.

As for me, I'm taking time to rest, meditate, and spend time with my family doing what I love, sharing moments, gazing at the lights, laughing, and being with my grandchildren. What about you? 

Don't wait. I see it every year in my work with senior leaders. December arrives, and with it, a quiet tension. On the surface, things look calm. Underneath, there’s fatigue … emotional, mental, and sometimes spiritual. Leaders who have carried others all year finally feel the weight of their own needs. And yet, many people don’t know how to stop without feeling guilty.

We’ve been conditioned to equate motion with value. Busyness with importance. Output with worth.

But leadership isn’t proven by how much you can endure without breaking. It’s revealed by how wisely you choose to give yourself and gift yourself time to pause.

A true pause isn’t about disengaging from responsibility. It’s about reconnecting with what grounds us in family and friends. Time alone. Silence. Laughter. The moments that don’t show up on a performance review but shape who you are when you walk back into the room. When you take time to restore your energy, you become even stronger within yourself. 

This season invites us to remember that leadership doesn’t happen in isolation. Who you are at work is deeply influenced by who you are at home, with people you love, and with yourself when no one is watching.  So, give yourself the gift of taking a pause.  See below for a few gifts for you from us at LCB. 

When leaders fail to pause, something subtle yet dangerous occurs. Perspective narrows. Patience shortens. Creativity dries up. We become reactive instead of reflective. Efficient, but not effective. 

I often tell leaders: burnout doesn’t come from working too hard—it comes from working too long without meaning, rest, or renewal.

Pausing restores meaning.

It gives you space to ask better questions, not just about goals and strategy, but about alignment.

What mattered this year? What didn’t? Where did I stretch in ways that strengthened me? Where did I overextend in ways that depleted me?

These are not indulgent questions. They are personal, leadership, and spiritual questions.

Because the leaders who return in January with clarity, calm, and conviction aren’t the ones who powered through December at full speed, they’re the ones who gave themselves permission to step back, exhale, and reconnect with their inner compass.

And let’s be honest—this isn’t easy.

For many high performers, pausing can feel uncomfortable. Stillness brings awareness. Awareness brings truth. And truth sometimes asks us to acknowledge that we’ve been running on empty… or running away from something we don’t want to face yet.

But courage in leadership isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes it looks like saying no, leaving early, unplugging, or choosing presence over productivity.

It looks like spending more time at the table with family. Taking a walk without your phone. Laughing with friends who remind you who you were before titles and roles. Giving yourself space to be, not just do.

This is not time wasted. This is time invested in your well-being, your relationships, and your long-term capacity to lead well.

As we close out this year, I'd like to invite you to pause without apology.

Not to check out … but to check in.

To honor what this year asked of you. To appreciate what carried you through. And to gently release what no longer needs to come with you into the next chapter.

Leadership is not just about driving forward. It’s also about knowing when to stop, reflect, and realign—so that when you move again, you move with intention.

My wish for you this holiday season is simple and sincere:

May you rest without guilt. May you reconnect with what matters most. May you enter the new year grounded, clear, and renewed.

Wishing you and those you love a peaceful, joyful holiday—and a pause that restores you more than you realize.

— Susan

A couple of gifts for you during this holiday season.

1. Jump Start 2026 with our LinkedIn Optimization Cheat Sheet and Workbook 

2. Build Your Executive Presence and Executive Identity Framework

3. Looking to Get Promoted in 2026: The Executive Ceiling:  Why Performance Stops Working 

Join me for the Build Your Executive Edge. A strategic session to uncover the Three Reasons Why High Performers Are Passed Over … and How to Fix It.  Register here: https://lcbgroup.krtra.com/t/XW0ugCeGwolF