Push and Pause

I'm standing in the squat rack, about to attempt a new personal record. The weight on my back is heavy. Really heavy.

I take a deep breath, brace my core, and descend into the squat. As I push back up, my lungs are screaming for air. But I can't breathe yet. Not until I'm back at the top.

One rep done. Now I can breathe.

I could probably do another rep without taking a breath. Maybe even two. But I know what happens if I try to push through without proper breathing. Eventually, I'll pass out. And passing out with 150kg* on your back is not a great idea.

Most people understand this intuitively when it comes to physical performance. Yet there are leaders who don’t think their teams need to pause to take a breath. You can push hard for a while. In fact, some situations require some really heavy lifting.

But without intentional pauses, your team will eventually collapse.

The fallacy of constant push

I learned this lesson the hard way when consulting for a tech company a few years back. The CTO at the time was a Yes-man, hellbent on delivering more features, faster, for more partners. Every time one project ended, two new ones appeared.

For two years straight, the tech department pushed harder and harder. No time to catch their breath. No time to celebrate wins. Just constant push.

At first, the tempo seemed fine. Features were being shipped and the few partners we had were happy. But as more partners where onboarded, cracks started to appear.

First came the increase in sick leaves. Then the first resignation. And as anyone who's been in tech long enough knows, resignations come in waves. When one person leaves, others start questioning their own situation.

Within three months, they lost 25% of their engineering team, which in turn made all projects get seriously delayed. The very thing that made them successful - their ability to ship features quickly - had become their downfall.

All because they failed to pause to take a breath.

The Science of Team Performance

There's solid research backing up why teams need intentional pauses. When teams celebrate wins together, their brains release oxytocin - often called the trust hormone. This chemical reaction literally brings teams closer together.

But it's not just about feeling good. High-performing teams need psychological safety. The ability to take risks without fear of punishment. This safety is built during moments of pause, not push.

These moments of pause are even more critical for distributed teams. When you don't see each other every day, you need to be intentional about creating spaces for connection.

This is something I learned while building Devies, the consulting company I cofounded. By nature, consulting companies are distributed - all employees are spread across different clients and spend more time with other companies employees then their own collegues. We found that regular offsites, where we could celebrate wins and work on making the company better, were key for creating those deeper connections.

Making Space for Pause

Just like you need to pause for breaths, your muscles need time to recover between sets. The same goes for your team.

The challenge isn't usually about pushing harder. Most teams I work with are already pushing plenty hard. The real challenge is pausing often enough and for an appropriate length.

The rhythm of push and pause (you might call this Seasons) looks different for every organization and layer. For some teams, it could be a weekly all-hands meeting where last weeks wins are celebrated. For a company with multiple teams, it could be quarterly offsites where the team aligns on direction and values.

The key is to make these pauses intentional and build them into your regular processes.

As a bonus, you can use these pauses to repeat tell the story of how you got here and build the company narrative. What challenges did you overcome? What are you proud of? Is there anyone who has done something that embodies the company values?

Wrap up

Back in the squat rack, I'm preparing for my next set. I could rush it. Skip the setup. Hold my breath a bit longer. But I know better. Each tiny pause to breathe between reps is what enables me to lift more in the long run.

The same goes for your team. Each pause isn't a break from performance. It's what enables sustained high performance.

The tricky part is that there's no universal formula. What works for one team might break another. But there is one truth I've found: the harder you need to push, the more intentional you need to be about your pauses.

If you're wondering how to find your team's rhythm, let's talk. Sometimes an outside perspective is all you need to find the right balance.

Until then, don't forget to breathe.

*I don’t really squat 150 kg, but as Mark Twain once said: Never let the truth get in the way of a good story!