Slow Down to Lead Well
How to Slow Down Part 1 of 3
We usually appear and feel more productive the faster we respond, the quicker we ship, the more we accomplish in less time, the less time we can get to zero inbox, having ready decisions as soon as a question is asked. How many of us in this speedboat carry a quiet exhaustion, minds full, attention fragmented, and pace unsustainable just hanging by a thread before things (or we) break?
The countercultural truth: in purposeful productivity, slowing down is not a setback, but an essential leadership practice. It’s not slowing down the world for slowing down’s sake—it’s making our inner pace bent to listen, to be able to discern, and to exercise wisdom.
Why Slowing Down Matters for Leaders
Slowing down feels wrong because we’ve been conditioned to believe that speed is synonymous with success. Even as I write this, I second-guess using the the phrase slow down, thinking perhaps there’s a better term because slowing down might unintentionally communicate being less passionate for what we’re set out to do, which is definitely the opposite. But perhaps, slowing down is the term that best counters the hurried pace we’ve normalized and sometimes even praise.
Slowing down for leaders matters because:
Hurry is disabling.
The more we hurry, the more we lose the ability to think clearly, listen deeply, and discern wisely.
Dr. Nancy Andreasen, a neuroscientist at the University of Iowa, has shown that the brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN) lights up during rest. The DMN is responsible for creativity, self-reflection, and making novel connections—the very capacities most prized in leaders and innovators.
Forbes, 20251
From the same article, I quote, “Leadership begins with intentional rest. Neuroscience confirms stillness sparks creativity, insight, and problem solving.”
People you lead follow suit.
When we are hurried, we create teams that reflect the same hurried culture. It becomes normal—until people burn out. Then burning out and exiting becomes the norm. Obviously a high turnover is not telling of a purposefully productive team. Or better yet, it is not a mark of a purposefully productive leader.
If you start emailing after hours, logging on during leave, or regularly working late or on weekends, you risk signaling that nonstop hustle is the norm and prompting your team to mirror these unhealthy habits. As a people leader, it’s your responsibility to act with intention and model healthy, sustainable ways of working.
Culture Amp, 20252
Slowing Down as a (Spiritual) Discipline
. . .whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.
Proverbs 19:2b
Slowing down is not merely a discipline for managing, but a spiritual one. Slowing down from the outside can help train our inside but will fall short. We need to slow down from the inside-out not because we lead others but because we are designed to be led ourselves.
But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:41–42
. . .but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:4–5
The world pushes for more output. God invites us to abide, and it is from abiding that we bear fruit.
Although it can be (to some degree), let’s not make slowing down simply a time management technique. Let us slow down to choose presence over pace, and formation over performance. And as we do, we will be able to lead and set the pace for our work and teams, and we’ll get to perform well together.
Wrapping it Up
Slowing down does not mean we care less—it means we care better. It doesn’t make us less productive nor passionate—it makes our productivity purposeful and our passion directed (not distracted). Slowing down doesn’t necessarily mean doing less, but impacting more. As leaders, we are not called to move at the sole speed of urgency, but of wisdom. Wisdom requires listening. Listening requires space. And space is not found in hurried souls, but in slowing down, from the inside-out.
We cannot lead when we’re moving too fast to hear God, too full to discern, or too hurried to notice. When we slow down, our decisions become clearer, our leadership becomes calmer, and our teams become safer and more effective.
💭 Reflection
Wrestle on this more and seek God about your leadership and productivity.
What part of my leadership feels rushed, pressured, or reactive?
In what ways might my team be mirroring my own hurried pace?
Where in my current pace do I sense God inviting me to slow down?
🪴 Practical Tips
Start with just one practical application that will help you remember to be present, to think through, to seek wisdom. Here are some examples.
Add Margins. Instead of overhauling your workday, add micro margins like ending meetings 5 minutes early, adding buffers between tasks, and not filling your entire calendar.
One Unhurried Convo a Day. Once today, ask someone on your team or at home, “How are you, really?” And then listen unhurriedly.
Abiding Checkpoints. Start the day with a simple prayer, “Jesus, set the pace of my soul today.” Schedule a midday checkpoint to ask, “Lord, what is the wise pace for this moment?” Before leaving work, reflect, “Where did I hurry more than I needed to?”
If this helped you rethink productivity, share it with someone who needs grace at work today to help keep this space growing.
(2025, October 2). Stillness Is Power: Why Slowing Down Is The Boldest Act Of Leadership Today. Forbes. Retrieved December 6, 2025, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/nelldebevoise/2025/10/02/stillness-is-power-why-slowing-down-is-the-boldest-act-of-leadership-today/
(2025, July 8). How leaders can cultivate a culture of high performance in 2025. Culture Amp. Retrieved December 6, 2025, from https://www.cultureamp.com/blog/how-leaders-can-cultivate-culture-high-performance-2025