The resistance to slowing down
“We don’t have time for this. We need solutions, not more talk.”
The CEO’s frustration was palpable as we began our three-day team retreat. His arms were crossed, shoulders tense, and eyes darting between his watch and phone. This reaction wasn’t new to me. In fact, I’ve come to expect it.
In today’s corporate world, the pressure to move quickly, to produce immediate results, and to constantly accelerate has become almost sacred. Suggesting that a team needs to slow down often feels like business blasphemy.
Yet by the end of those three days, that same CEO approached me with a completely different energy: “I understand now why we needed to slow down. We’ve accomplished more in three days than in the entire past year.”
The U-Journey: descending before rising
This transformation perfectly illustrates what Otto Scharmer’s Theory U describes. The journey isn’t a straight line forward but rather a U-shaped process that requires us to descend before we can truly rise with meaningful solutions.
First, you descend:
- Breaking away from daily chaos
- Stepping out of the constant “on” mode
- Moving beyond automatic reflexes and reactions
Then you reach the bottom of the U:
- Where authentic conversations emerge
- Where patterns become visible
- Where new ideas can take root and grow
Finally, you ascend:
- With renewed energy and purpose
- With shared insights and understanding
- With sustainable solutions that stick
The corporate addiction to speed
Why is slowing down so difficult for teams? In our experience working with leadership teams across various industries, we’ve observed a kind of collective addiction to busyness and speed.
Leaders often equate constant activity with productivity and value. Email notifications, back-to-back meetings, and immediate responses have become badges of honor rather than potential barriers to deep work and meaningful progress.
This addiction creates workplaces where:
- Teams talk past each other, leading to misunderstandings and frustration
- People hold back opinions and ideas, fearing judgment or rejection
- Critical issues remain unresolved while tensions silently build beneath the surface
- Departments operate as isolated islands instead of collaborative partners
Creating a climate of safety and creativity
What happens when teams finally slow down and reach the bottom of the U curve? They enter a climate where everyone feels free to say what they need to say. An atmosphere where differences can exist and be leveraged as strengths. A space where courageous conversations build trust and openness.
One leadership team we worked with had been stuck in a cycle of blaming the market conditions for their declining results. When they finally slowed down enough to have honest conversations, they discovered that internal communication barriers between sales and product development had been causing most of their problems all along.
By creating space for these revelations, the dynamic became more energetic, innovation flourished, and most importantly, workplace enjoyment visibly increased. As one team member put it, “I feel like I can breathe again and actually think.”
This transformation doesn’t happen overnight or through a simple workshop exercise. It requires genuine commitment to creating psychological safety, a term coined by Harvard’s Amy Edmondson that describes environments where people feel they can take interpersonal risks without fear of punishment or humiliation.
The climber’s wisdom
Mountain climbers know what corporate teams often forget: pushing too hard without proper pacing and rest leads to burnout, mistakes, and sometimes failure to reach the summit altogether.
Just as climbers rely on each other to scale new heights, teams need mutual trust, support, and leadership to overcome their greatest challenges. But this deep connection and trust can only develop when we create the space for it.
A financial services leadership team we worked with had been rushing from one initiative to another for years. Their three-day retreat initially felt like a luxury they couldn’t afford. Yet by slowing down, they uncovered outdated assumptions that had been guiding their strategy, reconnected with their core purpose, and aligned around a clearer direction. Within six months of implementing their new approach, they saw a 23% increase in client satisfaction and improved employee retention.
What’s particularly fascinating is how this team described their experience afterward: “It felt like time expanded,” said the CTO. “Somehow, by slowing down, we actually found more time. Not just during the retreat but afterward. Our meetings are shorter, more focused, and we’re not constantly revisiting the same issues.”
When to apply the brakes
How do you know when your team needs to slow down? Watch for these warning signs:
- Recurring problems that never seem to get solved despite multiple “quick fixes”
- Meetings where everyone agrees quickly but implementation consistently fails
- Team members who seem physically present but mentally elsewhere
- Increasing tension, defensiveness, or conflict avoidance
- Decisions being made without adequate exploration of alternatives
The way forward: intentional deceleration
Slowing down doesn’t mean stopping all work or becoming inefficient. Rather, it means creating intentional spaces for connection, reflection, and innovation alongside your regular operations.
Consider these practical approaches:
- Schedule quarterly “off-site” days where the team steps away from operations to reflect on patterns and strategy
- Build “thinking time” into your weekly schedule where no meetings or emails are permitted
- Create regular forums for open dialogue about challenges without jumping to solutions
- Practice active listening techniques that ensure everyone’s voice is heard
The ultimate paradox
This is why we do what we do at HESPAR. We don’t need to tell teams where they should go. By meeting them first in their haste and restlessness, they can experience for themselves what happens when they dare to slow down.
The ultimate paradox is that the fastest way forward often requires us to temporarily slow down. Like the bowstring that must be pulled back before the arrow can fly, teams that take the time to descend through the U journey ultimately accelerate far beyond those who remain stuck in perpetual busyness.
The question isn’t whether your team can transform, it’s whether you’re willing to slow down enough to make it happen.
Stay curious. Explore our updates by subscribing to our newsletter.