What if the real challenge of leadership isn’t choosing what to do but choosing when to do it?

Today’s leaders operate in a world of compressed timelines, noisy signals, and constant pressure to move faster. The mantra is everywhere: “Ship now.” “Decide today.” “Don’t fall behind.”

Here’s the core dilemma. Moving quickly isn’t the same as moving effectively, and moving slowly isn’t the same as being deliberate. I see many leaders end up doing both — rushing when they should pause, and hesitating when they should act.

What if the real work is pacing, not speed?

Avoiding the Whiplash

Speed without soundness creates churn. Soundness without speed creates stagnation.

Leaders often mistake urgency for importance or assume speed signifies confidence. But not all decisions require the same pace. The best leaders cultivate a discipline of rhythm — adjusting their speed based on stakes, signals, and reversibility.

It’s the difference between reacting and leading.

Three Situations I’ve Seen Where Leaders Misjudge the Pace

1. False urgency. An account leader spirals under revenue pressure, not customer impact, leading them to pursue the wrong opportunities.
2. Slow-walking the inevitable. A leader postpones a tough decision (a role change), claiming to be “thoughtful,” even as the cost of delaying increases.
3. Rushing in the dark. A product team pushes a launch despite unclear assumptions because pausing feels like weakness and falling behind.

We all recognize these traps because we’ve all experienced them. Pacing is a leadership skill that few teach and even fewer actually practice.

Three Real-Life Examples of Finding the Right Pace

1. A GM launches a basic MVP in 10 days instead of debating edge cases for six weeks and discovers customers don’t care about half the features anyway.
2. A COO slows a key hire despite executive committee pressure to “just put someone in the seat,” realizing a fast wrong hire is more expensive than a slow right one.
3. A start-up founder pauses a product sprint after a few customer interviews reveal a flawed assumption because moving quickly in the wrong direction increases costs, not sales.

Each leader understood the same truth: speed is a tool, not a virtue.

A Simple Cadence Test: Pause → Pivot → Proceed

You can make almost any decision better with three words:

Pause: When the stakes are high, the signal is low, or the decision is irreversible. This isn’t procrastination, it’s intentional thinking.

Pivot: When new evidence contradicts your assumptions. The best leaders change direction fast when reality changes.

Proceed: When the cost of waiting exceeds the cost of trying. Fast action matters, but only once you’ve done the minimum work to know why.

Adopt the principle: Not everything is urgent. Not everything is fragile. Not everything is final. Pacing helps you recognize the difference.

Your Next Move

Pick one initiative this week with your team, and run a quick pace check:

1. Are we rushing, drifting, or pacing?
2. Are we deciding fast, fitting, or final?
3. Set a one-week learning window: decide, observe, adjust.

Speed is useful. Soundness is essential. Cadence is leadership.

A Closing Thought

People rarely admire leaders who move too fast or too slow. They admire leaders who move with intention.

So what if your next level of leadership isn’t about acceleration or caution, but about knowing when to do each?

Let’s unlock better—together.