Before the Plan, comes the Pause

The start of a new project or program often feels like standing at the base of a mountain. There’s anticipation. Energy. A clear pressure to start climbing.

Stakeholders want to see momentum. Sponsors want to see a plan. Teams want to know what they’re working on. As a project leader, you may feel the weight of needing to “get moving” and fast.

But in the rush to begin, there’s a step many leaders skip. It’s not flashy. It doesn’t fill out a Gantt chart. It won’t tick off any governance boxes.

It’s the pause. And it’s where real project leadership begins.

The temptation to leap

In project environments especially those tied to funding cycles, strategic initiatives, or technology deadlines, the urgency to act is real. Leaders often find themselves expected to walk in with answers, map out milestones, and keep things moving.

But what often gets missed in those early days is this: while planning is about tasks and timelines, leadership is about people and purpose.

A project can be scoped without vision. It can be launched without alignment. And it can fail even with the best delivery team in place if the leader hasn’t first created shared understanding, trust, and a sense of intentional direction.

That’s what the pause is for.

The leadership pause isn’t a delay — it’s a discipline

Let’s be clear: this isn’t about dragging your feet.

The pause is not indecision. It’s not bureaucracy. It’s not about holding endless kickoff meetings or putting everything on ice.

The pause is deliberate. It’s leadership in action. It’s the moment where you slow down (just enough) to make sure you’re pointing the team in the right direction before you start moving fast.

It’s asking:

• What problem are we really here to solve?
• Who needs to be on this journey from day one?
• What expectations, past frustrations, or patterns are we walking into?
• And most importantly, how do I want to show up in this role?

Why the pause matters more than you think

A 2021 PMI report found that 37% of project failures are due to a lack of clearly defined goals and milestones. But beneath that statistic is a deeper truth: many of those goals weren’t unclear because no one could articulate them. They were unclear because no one paused to align on them.

In my experience working with project sponsors, program directors, and cross-functional teams, the projects that thrive aren’t always the ones with the perfect scope or the most resourcing. They’re the ones where the leader took time early on to:

• Build trust
• Understand the human dynamics
• Surface assumptions
• Set a tone of clarity, calm, and confidence

That leadership tone is contagious. It’s also hard to reset once you’ve started.

The power of one week

I once supported a new project leader stepping into a long-awaited system replacement initiative. The timeline was tight, and there were calls from the executive to “just get on with it.”

But instead of racing into planning mode, she paused. For five business days, she met one-on-one with key stakeholders. She asked open-ended questions, listened for patterns, and hosted a team values session.

That short pause uncovered a misalignment in expectations between the business and technical leads, a carry-over conflict from a previous failed attempt, and a misunderstanding around data ownership that would have derailed planning later.

It took a week. And it saved the project months of rework and repair.

What does a leadership pause look like?

Every project is different but here are five reflective areas I often walk through with project leaders before they begin formal planning:

1. Purpose – Are we clear on why this project exists? What business or customer problem are we solving? Why now?
2. People – Who do I need to build trust with early? Who are my formal stakeholders and who are the informal influencers?
3. Power – What expectations, pressures, or unspoken agendas exist? Who holds decision-making authority?
4. Patterns – Are there past lessons or legacy issues that need surfacing before they resurface themselves?
5. Presence – How do I want to show up as a leader in this space? What mindset do I need to bring into the room?

These questions don’t replace planning. They strengthen it. They make the plan more meaningful, more supported, and more likely to succeed.

If you’re starting fresh this new financial year…

Maybe you’ve been asked to lead a high-risk project. Maybe you’ve stepped into a new role, or been handed a portfolio that’s complex, political, or already in motion.

Whatever the context, your first instinct might be to demonstrate progress. To move fast, show delivery momentum, and respond to the pressure.

But I invite you to do something different. Just for a moment.

Pause.

Ask yourself:

• What’s the conversation we haven’t had yet?
• What clarity am I assuming instead of confirming?
• How can I set a tone of trust, direction, and presence—before the first task is even assigned?

Because when you take the pause seriously, everything that follows has a stronger foundation.

So before the plan, pause. Breathe. Look around. And lead from there.