Silence is Golden: Why Leaders Need Quiet Time.
We all know it, yet we so easily forget. We are not built to be 'on' all the time.
Leadership can feel like an endless barrage of tasks, people, expectations, and meetings. The noise is constant. Not just background noise, but cognitive, emotional, and physical. Over time, it chips away at our clarity, effectiveness, and, often, our well-being.
In one of my Letters to Leaders, I wrote about the noisiness of contemporary leadership and offered three ways to rise above it: take care of your body (move, eat, rest), protect your focus time, and say no to meetings that don't need your input. Those last two will lead you to the moment of quiet you need so badly.
The leaders who reach out to me value self-awareness. They're deliberate and intentional, thinking about the legacy they're leaving behind. Reflection is not an indulgence in their world; it's a necessity.
Quiet time allows us to step back from what we are doing and ask, "Who am I being?" It's where self-awareness grows. It's where blind spots soften into understanding.
In my work, this space, free from judgment and urgency, is often where breakthroughs occur.
One of the foundations of reflection comes from Donald Schön, who describes two types: reflection in action, which happens in the moment, and reflection on action, which is the pause afterwards; the debrief, the learning, the quiet "what now?"
Reflecting on action requires silence.
It's not thinking with one eye on your inbox or commuting home while catching up on phone calls.
It's thinking that's spacious, intentional, honest.
When leaders tell me they want to deepen their impact, the first question I ask them isn't "What's the strategy?" It's "When are you carving out time to think?"
Deep reflection sharpens our problem-solving, deepens our empathy, and builds the kind of emotional intelligence that lets us tune in not just to what's happening around us but to how we're showing up inside it.
Your wins don't just shape the legacy you leave as a leader. Legacy is shaped by your willingness to stop, to listen to yourself, and to adjust course when needed.
If you're thinking, "Yeah, fine, Maree, but I can't take a large chunk of time out of each week to reflect," I know you can't. I get it. But you don't need a lot. You only need to practice.
For some of my clients, it's journaling. For others, it's reflective walking, solo, without distraction. For many, it's setting aside a short few minutes each day, and slightly longer at the end of the week, to think, rather than do.
And for some, it's talking aloud with someone who holds space for that thinking, someone who listens deeply, nudges gently, and doesn't need you to perform like a dancing pony. To simply be you, in all your vulnerability.
I love the Buddhist proverb: "Sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day, unless you are too busy, then sit for an hour."
Quiet time is not a luxury. It's how leaders access the wisdom required to lead with intention, clarity, and heart.
If you're ready to explore this further, to sit in that reflective space with someone who understands the weight of leadership, I'd love to hear from you.
Go gently.
