“We need you to do more with less.”
If you’re a leader in 2025, you’ve either said this phrase or heard it so many times it’s lost all meaning. I hear it consistently from clients across multiple sectors: financial services, healthcare, technology, manufacturing. The refrain is always the same.
Close the productivity gap. Increase efficiency. Hit higher targets. And by the way, there’s no proportionate budget growth. No additional headcount. Just you, your team, and the expectation to somehow make magic happen.
Many leaders are turning to AI as the answer. And yes, AI is a powerful tool. But it’s just that: a tool. It’s not perfect. It still needs human judgement, creativity, and strategic thinking to be effective. And whilst organisations race to implement the latest technology, most leaders are missing a far more powerful trick.
Slowing down.
I know. It sounds completely counterproductive. When you’re drowning in demands and your to-do list is reproducing faster than you can tick things off, the last thing that seems logical is to stop. But hear me out.
The 20% Impossibility
I was recently working with an executive and his team who had been handed what felt like an impossible task: increase productivity and hit a new target that was 20% higher than their current performance. No additional resources. No extra budget. No new hires.
Just the expectation of 20% more.
Before he delivered this news to his team (which, let’s be honest, he was dreading), we sat down together. He vented. He listed all the reasons why this was unreasonable, unfair, and frankly, impossible. I listened. Then I asked him a simple question:
“If you looked at this as an opportunity instead of a challenge, how would you approach things differently?”
Silence.
Then: “Nothing will change. It’s still impossible.”
More silence.
But after a couple of minutes, something shifted. I could see it in his face. His mind began to move from defensive resistance to creative possibility. And once we opened that door, everything changed.
We explored how there were people in his team with certain strengths that could be repositioned into key areas where those strengths would have maximum impact. We talked about how restructuring work distribution wasn’t just about productivity; it actually provided an opportunity for certain people to step up, to grow, to take on leadership they’d been ready for but hadn’t been given the chance to demonstrate.
We examined the various personalities in the team and how different working styles could be better leveraged. We looked externally at resources that could be brought in for free: partnerships, knowledge exchanges, pro bono consultants looking to build case studies.
By the end of our conversation, that 20% increase didn’t look impossible anymore. It looked like a catalyst for transformation.
But here’s the thing: none of that would have been possible if we hadn’t slowed down first.
Slow Is Smooth, Smooth Is Fast
The Navy SEALs have a saying: “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.”
In high-pressure situations where lives are on the line, the instinct is to rush, to react, to do something immediately. But elite operators know that slowing down, taking a breath, assessing the situation properly, and then acting deliberately is actually the fastest way to achieve the objective.
Yet in business, we’ve convinced ourselves of the opposite. We’re so busy running that stopping feels impossible, even when it’s the most beneficial thing we could do.
We’ve believed the lie that action means progress.
But it doesn’t. Especially when dealing with complexity.
Think about it like this: imagine you’re in a thick fog, trying to navigate unfamiliar terrain. You could run in any direction, expending enormous energy, feeling like you’re making progress because you’re moving. But movement without direction isn’t progress. It’s just exhausting chaos. The smarter approach? Stop. Wait for the fog to clear, or take the time to get your bearings. Orient yourself. Then move with purpose.
This is what slowing down does in leadership. It gives you the space to see clearly, to think strategically, to make decisions that actually move you forward rather than just sideways at high speed.
The Neuroscience of Slowing Down
There’s solid neuroscience behind why this works.
When we’re in a state of constant urgency and stress, our brains operate primarily from the amygdala (the fight-or-flight response centre). In this state, we have reduced access to our prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for complex problem-solving, creative thinking, and strategic planning.
In other words, when we’re rushing, we’re literally less capable of the very thinking we need most.
Slowing down activates the prefrontal cortex. It allows us to shift from reactive to reflective mode. Research shows that even brief moments of pause (taking a few deep breaths, stepping away from your desk for five minutes, creating space before responding to a difficult email) can significantly improve decision quality and creative problem-solving.
When that executive slowed down with me, his brain literally shifted from threat response to opportunity recognition. The same information (20% increase, no resources) looked completely different once his nervous system regulated and his prefrontal cortex came back online.
The First U: Unlearning
At MindsetShift, we work with leaders through what we call the 3U Framework. And the first U is perhaps the most crucial, yet it’s something hardly anyone talks about.
Unlearning.
Before you can learn something new, you have to unlearn what’s holding you back. You have to identify and release the outdated beliefs, behaviours, and approaches that made sense in a previous context but are now limiting your effectiveness.
For that executive, he had to unlearn the belief that “more productivity = more resources.” He had to unlearn the narrative that challenge equals threat. He had to unlearn the habit of seeing his team as a fixed resource rather than a dynamic system that could be optimised.
This is the fundamental difference between change and transformation.
Most companies say they want transformation, but what they actually focus on is change. They want different results, but they’re not willing to fundamentally shift the underlying mindset and approach that created the current results in the first place.
Change is external. Transformation is internal.
Change is about doing things differently. Transformation is about thinking differently, which then naturally leads to doing things differently.
And transformation requires unlearning.
When you rush, you don’t have space to unlearn. You just keep executing the same patterns faster, wondering why you’re not getting different outcomes. Slowing down creates the space for genuine unlearning, which unlocks the second U in our methodology: Unlocking the potential that’s been there all along.
From Doomsday to Vision
Here’s what happened when that executive went back to his team.
Instead of delivering a doomsday “woe is us” narrative about impossible targets and inadequate resources, he told them a story. He painted them a picture. He shared a vision of what was possible.
He explained how this wasn’t just about hitting a number; it was about evolving how they worked together. He outlined how certain people would be moving into roles that better utilised their strengths. He highlighted the growth opportunities this presented. He acknowledged the challenge honestly, but framed it as something they would navigate together, with everyone playing a crucial part.
He empowered them instead of making them feel dejected.
And you know what? The team not only hit that 20% increase. They exceeded it.
Not because they suddenly worked 20% harder. But because they worked 20% smarter. Because their leader had slowed down long enough to see the real opportunity, to think strategically, to unlearn old patterns, and to communicate a vision that brought people along rather than shutting them down.
We Are Not AI
Here’s something else worth remembering: we are not AI.
AI processes at lightning speed. It optimises constantly. It can iterate thousands of times in seconds. And that’s valuable for certain tasks.
But we are human. Our power doesn’t lie in constant, frenetic adaptation. Our power lies in wisdom, in pattern recognition that comes from experience, in emotional intelligence, in the ability to create meaning and narrative, in knowing when to slow down and think deeply.
One of my clients, the CEO of a mid-sized technology company, was facing a similar situation. Revenue targets were up, market conditions were challenging, and the board was pushing for rapid expansion despite resource constraints. She was operating at such velocity that she was making decisions reactively, putting out fires rather than building a sustainable strategy.
When we started working together, the first thing I had her do was block out two hours every week for what we called “strategic stillness.” No phone. No laptop. Just a notebook and space to think.
She resisted initially. “I don’t have two hours to waste just thinking.”
But within a month, she told me those two hours were the most productive time in her week. In that space, she identified a partnership opportunity that brought in £2 million in new business. She recognised a structural inefficiency in her team that, once addressed, saved 15 hours per week of duplicated effort. She came up with the narrative framework for their next funding round that ultimately secured them their Series B.
None of that would have emerged if she’d stayed in constant motion.
The Competitive Advantage of Stillness
In a world where everyone is sprinting, slowing down is your competitive advantage.
Most leaders won’t do it. They’re too addicted to the illusion of productivity that comes from constant busyness. They confuse motion with progress. They mistake urgency for importance.
But the leaders who are willing to slow down, to create space for strategic thinking, to unlearn what’s not working, to truly see their teams and situations clearly? They’re the ones who will navigate complexity successfully. They’re the ones whose teams will be engaged rather than burned out. They’re the ones who will achieve sustainable transformation rather than temporary change.
So my question to you is: What would become possible if you gave yourself permission to slow down?
Transform How Your Leaders Think and Lead
If your organisation is looking for a holistic approach to leading transformation one that includes systemic thinking, leading through ambiguity and complexity, and understanding the human response to change, underpinned by great communication and storytelling skills we’d love to talk.
At MindsetShift, we don’t just teach theory. We work with leaders to fundamentally shift how they think, unlearn what’s limiting them, and unlock the potential that exists within themselves and their teams.
