Pause
How to Lead Brilliant Work in a Busy World
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Aug 4, 2026
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
“Gives you the tools you need to focus on the things that matter. Essential!” —Kim Scott, New York Times bestselling author of Radical Candor
Proven strategies to get your team’s best work in the most distracting environments.
Is the pressure to do more with less pushing you to burnout? Are you leading a team that’s busy but never at its best?
Most people don’t underperform because they lack talent or ambition. They underperform because their environment makes sustaining great work nearly impossible. But you don’t have to lose your team’s best work to endless distractions. With Pause, you won’t.
Pause gives you twelve ways to deliberately tap the brakes so your team can go faster and bigger on top priorities, even as AI turns up the pressure to overextend your team. Drawing from original research on over 150 major companies from Amazon to Google to LinkedIn, speaker and consultant Shawn Vanderhoven discovered that teams with leaders who pause spend triple the time on their biggest projects—regardless of the chaos that surrounds them.
With this actionable framework, you’ll learn how to:
- Protect focus by identifying and replacing crazy distracting messaging habits
- Generate momentum by turning fuzzy goals into crystal-clear targets
- Reveal the hidden workload that’s silently killing deep work
- Recognize when your people need your ear to increase their ability to concentrate
- Turn rumination into confidence by using mistakes to fuel growth
Through these practices and with captivating case studies, Pause gives you the strategies to cut through the noise, deliver remarkable results, and become the boss everyone wants to work for.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Vanderhoven, an executive development leader at the Wiseman Group, debuts with a practical guide to helping teams work efficiently in distracting environments. "In a world of endless demands and constant connectivity," he argues, "a leader's ability to pause isn't just a luxury; it's an absolute necessity." Drawing from hundreds of interviews with professionals across industries, as well as findings from neuroscience, psychology, and management, he offers solutions that combine individual productivity methods with leadership strategies. Noting that team leaders are often overwhelmed by competing priorities, he encourages them to establish clear goals and only take on tasks that align with them. He points to how a newly hired chief people officer at Bankers Financial Corporation successfully employed this strategy by framing her team's priorities on the office walls so they wouldn't get lost in the "noise" of digital tools and dashboards. Other time management strategies include creating hours-long "Focus Blocks," or times of day when no one is expected to respond to messages; removing devices during in-person conversations so "distractions can't compete for presence"; and allowing for regular "clearing" conversations so employees can share their problems before they turn into festering resentments. Filled with useful tips and memorable case studies, this will bring relief to organizations feeling lost in a sea of diversions.
