Choosing Pace With Intention

Debbie Fennell on February 4, 2026

Leadership is often measured by how quickly we respond. We celebrate leaders based on our perception of productivity measures. How we decide and how fast. How much we can carry. Yet some of the most meaningful leadership moments happen away from urgency, in the quiet choices about how we show up for others and for ourselves. 

When speed becomes the norm everywhere, leaders desperately try to keep pace. Relationships thin, and listening turns into tolerance. Decisions happen faster, but not always better. Over time, this pace follows leaders home, shaping how present they are with family, friends, and even themselves. Guilt creeps in alongside the thought, “You should be working. You have so much to do.”

Leadership beyond the boardroom asks a different question. Not how fast can I move, but what pace allows me to lead well and live well.

Learning into Action:
Where might slowing down, even briefly, strengthen your leadership, your relationships, and your ability to lead with purpose in the year ahead? When might you pause rather than give an immediate response?

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When Speed Becomes a Leadership Signal

Debbie Fennell on February 4, 2026

Inside organizations, speed is never neutral.  Whether leaders intend it or not, pace communicates priorities, safety, and expectations. (Edmondson, 2019; Perlow, 2012). Over time, teams learn what is valued not by what leaders say, but by how quickly they are expected to respond, decide, and deliver.

When speed becomes the default expectation, subtle cultural shifts begin to occur. Questions feel risky. Reflection feels inefficient. Leaders and teams move quickly to avoid being perceived as resistant or uncommitted. Psychological safety erodes not because leaders are uncaring, but because the environment no longer makes space for thoughtful contribution (Edmondson, 2019)

Real World Experiences
One leader recently shared that they received direction from their executive late on a Friday evening. Wanting to be responsive and demonstrate commitment, they spent the weekend completing the request. When they followed up, the response was appreciative, but casual. “Thanks, this could have waited until Monday.” The unintended message was clear. The appearance of availability and a quick response mattered more than boundaries or sustainability.

In another instance, a team rushed to implement a process change after an informal hallway conversation with a senior leader. No one paused to ask clarifying questions. No one checked alignment. Within weeks, the change had to be undone due to the downstream impact that had not been considered. The team moved fast, but it did not translate to effectiveness.

These moments are rarely malicious. They are cultural signals. Over time, they teach teams that urgency is safer than judgment, and speed is rewarded even when it creates unnecessary strain or rework. Leadership capability is not developed in environments driven by reflexive action and command-based urgency (Brown, 2021).

Recent U.S. workforce research shows that only 19 percent of employees strongly agree they trust leadership to make decisions in their best interest (Gallup, 2025). While many factors influence trust, pace plays a meaningful role in shaping it. When urgency consistently overrides clarity, teams experience misalignment, rework, and fatigue.

While many factors influence trust, pace plays a meaningful role in shaping it, particularly when urgency consistently overrides clarity and inclusion (Gallup, 2025; Edmondson, 2019). Trust weakens when people feel decisions are made too quickly to allow full consideration of the impact.

Culture is shaped in moments like these. When leaders pause to invite input, clarify priorities, or slow a decision long enough to assess risk, they send a powerful signal. Speed is not the enemy. Unexamined urgency is.

What Leaders Can Do Now:

  • Call it out. Name when speed is required and when it is not
  • Normalize questions and reflection as responsible leadership behaviors
  • Build intentional pauses into meetings and decision cycles
  • Decide and communicate the appropriate speed

Learning into Action
Where might your current pace be shaping culture in ways you did not intend? What can you personally do to mitigate those unintended effects?

References
Brown, B. (2021). Atlas of the heart: Mapping meaningful connection and the language of human experience. Random House.

Edmondson, A. C. (2019). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. Wiley.

Gallup. (2025). Only 19% of U.S. employees strongly agree they trust their organization’s leadership. Gallup Workplace.
https://www.gallup.com/404252/indicator-leadership-management.aspx 

Perlow, L. A. (2012). Sleeping with your smartphone: How to break the 24/7 habit and change the way you work. Harvard Business Review Press.

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When Speed Saves and When It Creates Risk

Debbie Fennell on February 4, 2026

In healthcare, speed is often treated as synonymous with excellence. Fast decisions. Rapid throughput. Immediate responses. In many clinical situations, speed is essential and lifesaving. Yet outside of true clinical urgency, unchecked pace can introduce risk, burnout, and costly rework.

Healthcare leaders are increasingly recognizing the difference between clinical speed and organizational urgency. The former protects patients. The latter, when left unexamined, can destabilize teams and systems.

Across healthcare organizations, we frequently observe a similar pattern. Operational decisions are made rapidly to keep pace with constant change. Leaders are often recognized for their responsiveness, yet frontline teams report growing confusion, fatigue, and inconsistent execution. Initiatives move quickly into implementation, but just as quickly lose traction because shared understanding and alignment were never fully established.

One of the most persistent challenges healthcare organizations face is sustaining change initiatives. Speed can create movement, but without clarity and engagement, it rarely creates durability.

In response, many healthcare leadership teams are reevaluating how they use speed. We work with leaders to intentionally slow specific decision cycles, clarifying which decisions require immediate action and which benefit from broader input. Leaders are also learning to build brief, structured pauses into operational meetings to assess downstream impact before moving forward. These moments of discipline often increase effectiveness, confidence, and buy-in.

Speed works best in healthcare when it is intentional and situational, not cultural. When everything is treated as urgent, nothing receives the thoughtful attention it deserves.

Key Takeaway:
In healthcare, speed should be applied where it protects care and patients, not where it compromises clarity, sustainability, or trust.

Learning into Action:
When the next initiative surfaces, ask a simple question. Is urgency truly required, or would a more deliberate pace improve outcomes, reduce burnout, and strengthen execution?

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Rituals as Regulators of Pace and Builders of Connection

Debbie Fennell on February 4, 2026

When organizations feel fragmented, rushed, or disconnected, leaders often respond by adding more communication, more meetings, or more initiatives. Yet one of the most effective ways to strengthen connection and regulate pace is far simpler and far more powerful. Rituals.

Rituals are intentional, repeatable practices that reinforce shared values and expectations. Unlike routines, which focus on efficiency, rituals create meaning. They help teams feel grounded, connected, and aligned, especially in environments where speed and pressure are constant.

Well-designed rituals serve two critical leadership functions. First, they regulate pace. Rituals create natural pauses that allow teams to slow down thinking at the right moments. A brief check-in at the start of a meeting, a structured reflection before a decision, or a consistent close that clarifies ownership all help prevent reactive leadership. These moments ensure speed is applied thoughtfully rather than reflexively.

Second, rituals build community and connection. When teams engage in shared practices, they experience predictability and a sense of belonging. People know what to expect and how they are expected to show up. Over time, rituals strengthen trust by signaling care, consistency, and follow-through.

Leaders sometimes resist rituals, fearing they will slow progress. Others dismiss them as “fluffy” activities that feel hard to justify when there is already too much to do. In practice, the opposite is often true. Teams with strong rituals spend less time correcting misalignment, repairing misunderstandings, or restarting initiatives. The time invested upfront consistently pays dividends in clarity, trust, and execution.

How to Apply This Now:
Identify one moment in your team’s workflow where pace often feels rushed or unclear. Introduce a simple ritual that creates structure and intention.

Examples include:
 • Opening meetings with a brief mission moment or purpose check
 • Pausing before decisions are finalized to ask what impact has not yet been considered
 • Ending discussions with clear commitments and ownership – who, what, and when

Rituals turn intention into a positive lived experience. They help leaders shape culture, regulate pace, and strengthen connections without adding complexity.

Learning into Action:
Commit to one leadership ritual for the next 60 days and observe how it changes clarity, engagement, and momentum.

Enjoy our YouTube video below, then visit Thunderbird Leadership’s YouTube channel to watch all of our YouTube videos!

Action Bias and the Hidden Cost of Always Moving

Debbie Fennell on February 4, 2026

In a recent December 23, 2025, post on LinkedIn, we highlighted a pattern many leaders feel but rarely articulate: action bias.

At the executive level, action bias rarely looks irresponsible. It often shows up as responsiveness, decisiveness, and urgency in the name of performance. Speed becomes the default setting because leaders feel pressure to reduce uncertainty, protect outcomes, and reassure the organization that things are under control. Additionally, some executives have a natural tendency for fast-paced environments. It “feels” more productive.

Over time, however, speed that is not anchored to strategy can quietly undermine the outcomes leaders are trying to protect.

What makes action bias particularly costly at the executive level is that it becomes embedded in systems. Decision cycles compress. Calendars fill. Response expectations tighten. Downstream leaders learn that speed is valued more than deliberation. The organization becomes efficient at moving, but less skilled at seeing.

The issue is not whether action is needed. It is whether speed is being used as a strategic advantage or as a cultural reflex. When pausing is interpreted as resistance, leaders stop asking better questions. When endurance is rewarded without regard for sustainability, we push past the warning signs, and burnout is the result. When teams are pushed to deliver quickly without clarity, rework increases, trust erodes, and risk rises.

A recent HBR article titled, Get Off the Transformation Treadmill, by Darrell Rigby and Zach First, in the January-February 2026 issue, candidly addresses the transformation treadmill and shares four actionable strategies for organizations to consider:

  1. Master Systems-Management
  2. Detect Emerging Realities Before Transformations Become the Only Options
  3. Increase Agility to Keep Problems Small
  4. Grow Value – Don’t Just Shift It from One Stakeholder Group to Another

Executive stewardship requires a different posture. It requires leaders to set a deliberate pace and normalize reflection as a strength. This is not about slowing everything down. It is about choosing when speed serves the mission and when it sabotages judgment. Mature leadership cultures create the space to think, assess, make informed decisions, and then act decisively.

At Tbird, we help leadership teams uncover these patterns even when they have become hardened into culture. Pausing is not the absence of leadership. It is one of its most responsible expressions of leadership.

Executive Reflection:
Where might intentionally slowing down improve decision quality, protect your leaders, and increase the long-term speed of execution?

Reference:  Rigby, D., & First, Z. (2026). Get off the transformation treadmill. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2026/01/get-off-the-transformation-treadmill

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The Power of Context-Based Coaching

Debbie Fennell on January 9, 2026

Thunderbird’s Context-Based Coaching approach is built on a simple idea with extraordinary impact. Leaders grow fastest when coaching conversations are grounded in the real circumstances they face, not hypothetical challenges.

Context gives meaning to insight. It helps leaders explore not only what they are thinking, but also why they think it, how it affects others, and what outcomes it creates across the team and the organization.

With a context-first approach, leaders consistently report breakthroughs such as:

  • New awareness that reshapes how they show up and communicate
  • Stronger alignment between intent and impact
  • More confident decision-making in navigating complex or uncertain situations
  • Increased empathy that strengthens relationships and builds trust

How Tbird’s Teaming Workshops Deepen Context

Context becomes even more powerful when leaders build on the awareness they gain during Thunderbird Leadership Consulting’s (Tbird) Teaming Workshops. These workshops surface real team dynamics, communication patterns, and accountability expectations in a shared environment. Leaders begin to see the broader system they are working within, not just their individual behaviors.

When they bring this expanded understanding into a safe coaching space, the connections become clear and actionable. Leaders can link their actions to outcomes with greater accuracy. They can reflect more honestly on how their choices influence trust, alignment, and performance. Most importantly, they begin to shift from reactive leadership to intentional leadership, guided by insight rather than pressure.

This combination of awareness-building in Tbird Teaming Workshop and Context-Based Coaching creates one of the strongest pathways to lasting behavior change and organizational impact.

Reflection

What meaningful shift could you make if you viewed your next leadership challenge through a broader lens of growth and opportunity rather than an isolated obstacle?s no longer serving you?

Trust as a Performance Indicator

Debbie Fennell on January 9, 2026

Trust is emerging as the most critical and most fragile element of today’s workplace culture. When trust is strong, teams move with clarity, confidence, and speed. People speak up sooner, solve problems faster, and navigate challenges with more shared ownership. When trust is low, leaders spend more time managing resistance, confusion, and rework, and even simple decisions begin to feel heavy.

Across the U.S., recent trends reveal a growing trust deficit that is directly affecting engagement and performance. Employees are becoming less confident in the consistency, transparency, and intent of organizational decisions. Leaders often believe they are communicating clearly, yet many employees feel misaligned, uninformed, or unsure of what to expect. This gap is now one of the primary reasons teams hesitate to fully commit to plans, changes, or new initiatives.

By the Numbers
According to Gallup’s 2025 U.S. Leadership & Management Indicator, only 19 percent of employees strongly agree that they trust their organization’s leadership, a striking trust deficit.

What Leaders Can Do
Start small and focus on behaviors that build reliability and transparency:

  • Make intent explicit before delivering feedback or decisions.
  • Share the “why” behind priorities to reduce uncertainty.
  • Close communication loops quickly to demonstrate follow-through.

Trust grows through repeated, observable actions, not messaging.

Reflection
How would you rate the current level of trust on your team on a scale of 1 to 10?

Take Action
This month, choose one trust-building habit and practice it consistently. Small shifts, reinforced over time, create meaningful cultural change.

Tbird 2025 Year-End Reflections: A Message from the Partners

Debbie Fennell on January 9, 2026

When we look back at this year, what strikes us most is not just how much we accomplished but how we did it. Tbird’s success wasn’t accidental or convenient. It was built through intention, partnership, courage, and an unwavering belief in the leaders and organizations we serve.

This year we stepped fully into the work we were meant to do. We deepened our relationships with long-standing partners and opened doors to new ones. We said yes to work that stretched us, and we designed experiences that created real movement; leadership pipelines, succession strategies, team development, strategic refreshes, and the kind of culture-building work that shifts the trajectory of an organization.

We expanded our impact across healthcare, higher education, and community-based organizations by helping leaders navigate complexity with clarity, compassion, and confidence. And we did it while evolving our own internal operations, strengthening our infrastructure, refining our brand, and creating tools and templates that will serve us (and our partners) for years to come.

What we are most proud of, though, is the way we showed up.

We collaborated. We listened deeply. We adapted with agility. We held space for leaders to learn, reflect, grow, and step into their future-ready selves. We elevated stories, clarified strategy, and helped teams find their rhythm and their heartbeat. And we did this with the belief in abundance by addressing all that we do through a lens of plenty.

This year felt like Tbird coming into its next chapter, which is a chapter defined by purpose, by partnership, by possibility, and by convergence and duality. We did big things and we did them with heart.

And because of that, we believe we are leaving the year stronger, more aligned, and more excited about what’s ahead than ever before.

Here’s to the work we’ve done, the leaders we’ve served, and the future we’re building together.

And for our Tbird Team:
As we step into a new year, we want to pause and express our profound gratitude to you as our collaborators who make our work so meaningful. The trust you place in us, the conversations you invite us into, and the courage you show as leaders are the heart of Tbird’s purpose.

  • Thank you for welcoming us into your lives.
  • Thank you for your honesty, your partnership, and your willingness to grow.
  • Thank you for allowing us to walk alongside you and your mission.

Looking forward:
We do not take for granted the privilege of supporting your leadership journeys, your strategic aspirations, and the communities we serve. Every engagement reinforces why Tbird exists, which is to help teams and leaders rise with clarity, purpose, and heart.

As we enter the new year, we do so grounded firmly in our guiding principles and inspired by the work we have co-created.

  • We enter with Clarity:  Clarity about who we are, the value we bring, and the shared impact we want to create with you.
  • We enter with Curiosity:  Curiosity to explore new ideas, ask better questions, and remain open to what is emerging in your systems and teams.
  • We enter with Connection:  Connection to you and your people, honoring relationships as the foundation for trust, growth, and meaningful change.
  • We enter with Courage:  Courage to challenge assumptions, hold bold conversations, and design solutions that move your organization toward its highest aspirations.
  • We enter with Compassion:  Compassion for the human experience of leadership—recognizing the pressures, hopes, and realities your teams balance every day.
  • We enter with Collaboration:  Collaboration that brings out the best in our partnership—co-creating strategies, experiences, and moments that elevate your leaders and strengthen your culture.
  • We enter with a commitment to Culture & Community:  Culture that supports belonging, psychological safety, alignment, and community that honors who you are and who you are becoming.

These principles guide how we show up, how we serve, and how we partner with you.

As the new year unfolds, we look forward to:

  • Deepening our partnership as we learn your aspirations, rhythms, and needs even more fully.
  • Co-creating future-ready leadership experiences that help leaders lead with clarity, courage, and authenticity.
  • Supporting your long-term success with tools, strategies, and frameworks that elevate performance and expand possibility.
  • Celebrating your wins because your success is truly our success.

We enter this next chapter with gratitude, intention, and excitement for all we will build together.

Thank you for trusting us. Thank you for challenging us. Thank you for growing with us. Thank you for reimagining with us. And thank you for making this fun, too.

With appreciation,
Amy, Dorothy, and Rhonda

Higher Education – 2025 Insights

Debbie Fennell on January 8, 2026

2025 was a defining year for higher education, with leadership effectiveness and culture climate rising to the top of institutional priorities. One of the most significant insights came from the 2025 EDUCAUSE Top 10 report, which identified restoring trust across campuses as a critical priority for the coming year. Institutions noted that public confidence in higher education continues to decline, and internal trust among faculty and staff has weakened in many environments due to rapid change, unclear communication, and increased workload pressure.

Parallel findings from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation highlight the external landscape. Public confidence in higher education has dropped to a record low, with only 36 percent of Americans reporting high confidence in colleges and universities. This trend has a direct influence on enrollment, institutional reputation, and the expectations placed on campus leaders.

Together, these indicators point to a clear conclusion. Leadership alignment, trust-building behaviors, and communication clarity will be at the center of development priorities in 2026.

Impact Highlights

  • Declining public trust is shaping strategic planning, governance, and communication priorities across campuses.
  • Leadership behaviors that increase transparency and strengthen faculty relationships are now essential effectiveness competencies.
  • Institutions focusing on culture, clarity, and collaboration report improved decision-making and greater organizational resilience.

Application

Higher education leaders can prepare for 2026 by investing early in leadership development, communication consistency, and trust-building practices that support both faculty and staff.

Call to Action
Explore additional insights from the EDUCAUSE 2025 report to guide your planning for the year ahead.
 

References:
EDUCAUSE. (2024). 2025 EDUCAUSE Top 10: Restoring Trust. Retrieved from
https://er.educause.edu/articles/2024/10/2025-educause-top-10-restoring-trust
The Change Leader, Inc. (2024). Public Trust in Higher Education: The Lumina Foundation and Gallup Report. Retrieved from
https://changinghighered.com/public-trust-in-higher-education-lumina
Gallup. (2024). Public Confidence in Higher Education. Summary referenced within Lumina findings.
3. What will you release that is no longer serving you?

The Leadership You Lived in 2025

Debbie Fennell on January 8, 2026

Leadership in 2025 was defined by complexity and constant change, yet leaders everywhere showed remarkable adaptability and resilience.

Growth happened in quiet moments as much as in bold decisions. It happened when you listened more closely, recommitted to firmer boundaries, invited deeper dialogue, or chose patience instead of urgency. It happened when you chose curiosity over certainty. It happened when you aligned your actions with your values and showed your team what consistency looks like in real time.

As you look back over the past year, consider the moments that strengthened your leadership identity.

  • Maybe there was an awareness as a result of a Tbird teaming session you attended.
  • Maybe you built trust in a new way.
  • Maybe you led through conflict with more commitment and composure.
  • Maybe you invested in your team’s development or your own.

Growth rarely arrives in grand gestures. More often, it shows up in small, steady shifts that accumulate over time.Your opportunity for 2026 is to build intentionally on the strengths you discovered this year. Carry forward what made you better and release what no longer serves your leadership.

Call to Action

1. Where did you show the most leadership growth this year? Celebrate and share it with us (reply to this email).
2. How will you build on that momentum?
3. What will you release that is no longer serving you?