Sometimes the fastest way forward is to slow down

Every leader knows what it feels like to think, “I shouldn’t have to slow down.” That feeling is universal. Leadership is a balancing act. Most days, it feels like you’re walking a balance beam, arms stretched wide, quietly praying, Please don’t fall. Somewhere along the way, we’ve convinced ourselves that slowing down means we’re falling behind. That if we’re not moving at full speed, we’re losing momentum. But what if the exact opposite is true? Yesterday, I ran nine miles. The first five felt effortless. My pace was great, my breathing was controlled and I remember thinking, this might be my best long run postpartum. Then I decided to go down a new road along one of my normal routes. And the route turned unexpectedly hilly. Very. The momentum I had built disappeared almost instantly, and when it came time to begin the faster portion of my run, something frustrating happened. I couldn’t. Not because I wasn’t capable. I could have gritted it out. But because the terrain had changed, the way I needed to move through the run had to change too. My Garmin watch wasn’t telling me to maintain a certain pace. It was telling me to maintain a certain heart rate. When the terrain demands a ...