Too Fast or Too Slow? Why Influential Leaders Know How to Set the Right Pace

The starting gun has fired, but are you sprinting, pacing, pausing or going too slow?

In elite athletics, there is a specialist role called the pacer; a runner who sets the rhythm so others can achieve their best. Erik Sowinski, one of the world’s most accomplished pacers, has helped hundreds of athletes break personal and world records by controlling the tempo of a race. Crucially, it’s not about finishing first but about knowing when to speed up, when to hold back, and when to step aside.

In the workplace, leaders play a similar role. They set the tone and tempo for their teams, often without realising it.

But here’s the paradox: go too fast, and you risk burnout and short-term thinking. Go too slow, and you may miss key opportunities or stifle innovation.

At a time when debates are underway about whether productivity in workplaces is lagging, now is the perfect time to reflect and consider: Are you setting the right pace?

And most importantly, is the pace you’re setting sustainable for you, your team and others impacted by your decision?

Why This Matters

Setting the wrong pace isn’t just an operational error; it has real human consequences.

Leaders who default to high-speed risk depleting their team’s energy reserves. Those who perpetually hold back can drain motivation and momentum. Neither is ideal.

Instead, leaders must learn to manage their team’s collective energy (not just collective time) and become attuned to when to accelerate the pace, pause, and shift the pace.

Professor Edward Deci and Professor Richard Ryan‘s Self-Determination Theory reminds us that sustainable motivation hinges on meeting three psychological needs: autonomy, relatedness, and competence.

• Autonomy refers to the feeling of being in control of one’s actions and decisions, rather than being externally controlled or pressured.
• Relatedness involves feeling connected to and valued by others, as well as experiencing a sense of belonging.
• Competence is the sense of being effective and capable in one’s activities.

When these needs are met, motivation and performance are typically enhanced.

In this context, when employees feel they lack control over their pace (autonomy), are disconnected from others (relatedness), or are ill-equipped to meet demands (competence), their motivation and, subsequently, their performance can decline.

Read: Rapid or Right? Making Startup Decisions Like Scientists

The Drawbacks of a Default Speed

Most organisations overvalue speed. They glorify busyness, equating activity with impact. But neuroscience highlights the drawbacks of this belief.

When you’re tired, rushed, or under pressure, your brain relies more heavily on heuristics – those mental shortcuts that can lead to biases and flawed decisions. You become reactive rather than reflective, relying on patterns instead of fresh insights.

In contrast, a slower pace, when strategically used, creates space for better thinking, stronger relationships, and more robust performance.

Sleep, for example, plays a critical role in resetting your brain’s prefrontal cortex, which governs decision-making, creativity and self-control. Without rest, you are more likely to default to tunnel vision, poor judgement and emotional reactivity.

The Opportunity: Build Resources, Don’t Burn Them

When you intentionally set a rhythm that respects energy cycles, circadian rhythms, and cognitive load, you create an environment where the workload is sustainable rather than destructive.

So who sets the pace?

While it may seem obvious that the leader sets the tempo, influential leadership means knowing when to follow and when to support others to set the pace.

Leadership, then, becomes an exercise in energy choreography. It requires an acute awareness of your own rhythms, your team’s energy levels, and the organisational context.

As a team member, your role may involve pacing for your leader or a colleague. This might involve, for example, anticipating their needs, helping to reduce their cognitive load, and keeping them on track. Just like Sowinski (mentioned at the beginning of this article), your success may lie in helping others succeed.

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Five Practices to Set and Sustain the Right Pace

Practice 1: Time Your Sprints and Cruises
Not every moment needs to be a sprint. Identify which projects or periods require intense focus and speed and which require slow, deliberate work.

Build in buffers after high-stress projects to allow recovery, reflection and learning. We all need time to cruise.

Practice 2: Start with Intention, Not Just Action
Use daily check-ins or team huddles to set intentions for the day. Encourage team members to declare a single priority or intention.

Take the extra step of writing down your intention, as this practice helps with focus and accountability. Sharing goals also enhances commitment and completion.

Practice 3: Focus on Momentum, Not Just Deadlines
Motivation isn’t magic. It’s momentum. Like a flywheel, it can be hard to get started, but once it’s spinning, it requires less effort to keep going.

You can use WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan), a science-backed mental strategy developed by Gabriele Oettingen, to get the flywheel spinning. It helps individuals stay connected to their purpose while managing potential barriers.

Read: From Purpose to Flow: Operational Excellence in Action

For example:

• Wish: I want to finish my project report by Wednesday.
• Outcome: I will feel accomplished and have a stress-free end to my week.
• Obstacle: I know I will get distracted by emails in the morning.
• Plan: If it’s morning, I will turn off my email notifications for the first 90 minutes of the day.

This structure moves beyond simple goal setting. By mentally preparing for the inevitable roadblock, the plan becomes a pre-loaded response, allowing you to maintain momentum instead of getting derailed.

Practice 4: Pay Attention to Space
The classic art of feng shui is built on the principle of paying attention to the space in which we are.

Leverage those insights because tidy spaces support tidy minds. You can apply the Kaizen 5S method (Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardise and Sustain) to physical and digital workspaces.

Also, don’t overlook aesthetic value. Colour, light, scent and sound all shape how people feel, think and behave.

Practice 5: Balance Collective and Individual Energy
Everyone has different energy rhythms. Some thrive early; others hit their stride mid-morning. Where possible, allow team members to align their most critical work with their peak energy periods.

Conduct one-on-one meetings or use surveys to gather insights into each team member’s most productive times and pacing preferences.

Rhythm Over Rushing

In leadership, the goal isn’t perpetual speed. It’s sustainable performance. Your job is not to be the fastest, but to lead your team across the finish line with energy, cohesion, clarity and well-being intact.

Ask yourself:

• Am I rushing when I should be reflecting?
• Am I pushing when I should be pacing?
• Am I leading when I should be supporting?

Finding the right pace isn’t a one-off decision. It is something that influential leaders embody as a daily leadership practice.

Influential leaders aren’t the ones who go furthest, fastest. They’re the ones who know when to surge, when to support, and when to stay in step with those around them.

Republished with courtesy from michellegibbings.com.