October is a month when a lot is in motion. After the autumn kick-off, the pace is high and the focus often shifts to execution. Many leaders I meet put it like this:
“We had great conversations in August - but now things are busy again. We’ve slipped back into old patterns.”
That’s completely understandable. Everyday work has a logic and momentum of its own. Operational pressure is often so strong that structural and cultural work is pushed aside - even though that’s where long-term results are shaped.
After more than 20 years of working with leadership teams, in both the private and public sectors, I’ve noticed a clear pattern:
The most successful teams are not the ones that do the most - but the ones that pause most often.
Effectiveness in a leadership team cannot be measured in time spent or number of meetings.
In the military, I learned the importance of clear direction, even under high pressure. I’ve carried that lesson into the business world. In complex organizations, leadership teams often confuse movement with progress.
Real progress requires pausing with quality not quantity. Often, a single good question is enough to regain direction:
What are we doing right now and why does it matter?
It’s a question I frequently use in leadership development, especially when working with culture and values transformation. Because what’s misaligned in an organization doesn’t always show up in the numbers but it’s felt in the spaces between people.
Culture isn’t what we say in vision documents.
It’s what we do in our calendars, in our conversations, and in our decisions.
Many of the teams I’ve supported have made significant cultural shifts through small adjustments:
It doesn’t require a major overhaul.
But it does require the courage to choose focus in the middle of operational pressure.
Strategy isn’t plans, it’s prioritization.
And that prioritization starts with leadership.
I often encourage leadership teams to set aside time for questions like:
These discussions aren’t always comfortable but they are essential for long-term direction and trust within the organization.
I don’t believe in making leadership more complex than it needs to be.
Leadership is about simplifying what matters and making it possible in everyday work.
This October, I’d like to leave you with a question whether you lead a team, a function, or a leadership group:
If you had the courage to address one thing in your culture right now what would it be?
That’s often where real development begins.
- Pierre
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