Permission to Pause

Dear Leaders:

I believe in you. I believe in your worth. I believe in your ability to lead. I believe that you do know exactly what you need to do and that you are right where you need to be.

And, I know that being there and believing in yourself can be hard. It can be lonely. You can doubt yourself. You can get in your own head and worry that you are an imposter. You can spend too much time in your headspace and not enough in your heart space.

I know, because I was you, leading by the seat of my pants, martyring myself, my sleep, my relationships, so that I was able to answer every question at the Board meeting. I felt the weight of the organization and the people I was responsible for on my shoulders.

And, I've learned a lot since then.

I've learned that I need to pause. I learned that the organization was better when I paused - when I paused to rest, to move, to learn, to reflect. I paused so that I could center myself and respond from a place of groundedness, of confidence, of knowing.

Pausing wasn't easy. Its's not written in policy or often accepted in our society.

And yet, pausing is so important.

I am giving you permission and space to pause.

I hope to see you there!

~Allison