The Power of Pause for Sustainable Leadership

Let’s be honest, as school leaders, every minute on our calendars is maxed out. Most days feel like a sprint; before we know it, we’re putting out fires, responding to emails, and juggling a dozen priorities. And the idea of adding one more standing item on the calendar can feel overwhelming. But one thing I have learned the hard way is that if you don’t pause and reflect, you will find yourself spinning your wheels and burning yourself out. Taking time to pause is a gift to yourself and an investment in your campus or district.  

When we don’t take time to pause for growth, we start to run on empty. 

“Everyone needs a coach. We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.” — Bill Gates. 

Why It Matters

We carve out time for everyone else—for our teachers, students, district deadlines, friends, and family—but we often forget to invest in our own growth. Taking time to pause may make us feel selfish when there are so many fires to put out. However, self-reflection, coaching, and mentoring are essential to our professional development and ability to remain in the leadership seat and effectively manage all that comes our way. 

The good news is that investing in yourself doesn’t cost a lot of money. The primary resource required is time, which must be intentionally set aside to make it happen.  

A Three-Pronged Approach to Your Professional Growth

• Self-reflection to remain connected to our values and purpose. It helps us slow down and lead with intention.  
• Coaching for progress in short-term growth and deeper reflection. It gives us space to process, grow, and see our blind spots with a reflective partner.  
• Mentoring for problem-solving and long-term progress. It connects us with a trusted person who has been in our shoes and can provide ideas on addressing our challenges. 

These aren’t extra things. They’re the things that keep you grounded and growing. 

Making It Happen

The work of school leadership rarely leaves room unless we create it. That’s why intentional planning matters. Below are a few practical suggestions and tips on how to make time to pause for your growth.

1. Start small. Pick one practice to embed. Once that happens successfully, you can add more reflection time to your professional practice.  
2. Perfection is the enemy of good. Strive for progress and intentional planning, and allow yourself grace if it’s not smooth in the beginning. The first and most important step is to proactively add these meetings to your calendar. If you don’t prioritize the time, it will not happen. 

Self-Meeting

Self-meeting is a weekly meeting with yourself (no one else) for 30–45 minutes at the beginning or end of the week. This allows time to self-reflect on the previous week and proactively plan for the week ahead. This is your space to check in with yourself—no audience, no pressure, just a chance to pause, prioritize, and lead with intention. 

Tips for Success:  

• Set a standing meeting on your calendar each week to have a self-meeting. Do it every week and make it a non-negotiable time.  
• Link to your reflection doc on the calendar info to maximize your time and keep the habit going. 

Get your FREE copy of our Self-Meeting Journal Sheet with guiding questions and enough pages for 1 year of reflection and growth!

Possible Guiding Questions:

The Wins 

• What am I most proud of this week? Where did I add the most value to my school community? 
• What progress did I see in my team or school? 
• What positive feedback (direct or indirect) did I receive this week, and what does it tell me about my leadership? 

The Opportunities 

• What challenge did I face this week, and how did I respond? What could I have done differently? 
• Did my time reflect my true priorities? What did I spend too much or too little time on? 
• What’s one thing I’d handle differently if I had a do-over? 
• What tasks, decisions, or meetings could I have delegated to empower my team better? 

The Next Steps and Priorities 

• What are the top 3 priorities or actions I must focus on next week to move our vision forward? 
• What aligns with our school goals or staff needs? 

What I Need to Succeed 

• Who can I connect with for insight or support? 
• What do I need to learn, read, or ask to be more effective? 
• What questions do I have that need answers? 

Coaching

Coaching is a monthly meeting with a leadership coach, supervisor, or trusted colleague to support your growth, improve performance, and help lead with greater clarity and intentionality. At its core, coaching is reflecting with a trusted person who listens and acts as a sounding board. They don’t have the answers, but they ask the right questions. The coach’s focus is determined by the person being coached, who acts as a sounding board, listener, and source of reflective questioning.  

Learn more about building strong leadership teams with our customizable Principal Support Packages and Assistant Principal Support Packages, which include coaching, PD, and strategic support!

Tips for Success:  

• Trust is foundational for successful coaching. Find someone you can speak to in confidence so you can reflect honestly. 
• Since you, the coachee, determine the direction of the coaching, it’s crucial to analyze your current successes and needs to determine the best path for coaching. Select one or two priorities for your coaching—you cannot fix everything all at once. 

Possible Discussion Points: 

• A celebration I have right now is… 
• Something I’m wrestling with right now is… 
• If I could fix this today, it would look like… 
• How can I stay aligned with my values while navigating challenges? 
• My next steps are… 

Mentoring

Mentoring is a meeting with a respected mentor with experience in your current role, where they might offer guidance, solve problems with you, and provide encouragement.  It’s a relationship built on trust, reflection, and learning. The mentor helps you problem-solve challenges, clarify goals, and grow your potential. Mentoring is holistic and long-term, centered on developing leadership capacity. 

Tips for Success:  

• Set a standing time to check in with your mentor (every month, every other month). Regularly scheduled problem-solving check-ins are essential. They can be a great source of ideas and support to help you navigate the myriad challenges of leadership. 
• Enter the conversation with honesty and a solution-oriented mindset. Share honestly about the challenges and barriers so your mentor can help you solve problems. Focus on what is in your locus of control, and you can listen and problem-solve with your mentor. 

Possible Discussion Points:   

• A challenge or area that is making me feel stuck right now… 
• The root cause of this issue is… 
• It aligns or misaligns with my values by… 
• Mentor share their ideas or experiences that might be beneficial to the situation 
• What’s one step I can take this week? 
• My mentor can support me by… 

Remember, You Must Invest In Yourself!

You can’t pour into others if you’re constantly running on fumes. Reflection, coaching, and mentoring aren’t nice-to-haves or selfish moments; they’re essential to sustaining your leadership. The longer you can stay in the seat, the more everyone benefits—students, staff, community members, and YOU! So carve the time. Protect it. And use it. 

Look at your calendar now and block off 30 minutes for a self-meeting. Better yet, make it a recurring calendar invite so you can build this habit. Start small and stay consistent. Over time, your self-reflection routines will pay dividends as you become a more proactive and resilient leader.