There’s a familiar refrain with the senior leaders I work with at this time of year:
“I just need more time… more people… more room to breathe.”

And yet, even when leaders do get more time or more resources, they rarely feel more capable. Their load might shift, but the internal experience – the urgency, the pressure, the narrowing – doesn’t.

Because time isn’t the real issue.

What most leaders are actually missing is space.

Not calendar space.
Not headcount space.
But the internal and interpersonal spaciousness that allows them to think clearly, feel honestly, decide wisely, and lead with intention rather than reactivity.

Time is a logistical variable.
Spaciousness is a psychological and systemic one.
And it’s the resource modern leadership is most starved of.

The Hidden Architecture of Space

In complex systems, more time does not guarantee better leadership.
More resources do not guarantee better performance.

Because leaders don’t lead from their calendar or their cost centre.
They lead from their inner state, their relational capacity, and the conditions they create around them.

Spaciousness is what allows a leader to:

• see the real issue rather than the surface one
• resist being pulled into urgency that isn’t theirs
• stay connected to people while holding standards
• access creativity in moments of constraint
• respond instead of react

Spaciousness isn’t a break from leadership, it’s what enables it.

And this is not soft skill territory.
This is the cognitive, emotional, and systemic foundation of leading, exceptionally.

Neuroscience calls it widening the window of tolerance.
Gestalt theory shows us that space determines what becomes figure — what rises to attention and shapes what we notice, interpret, and act on.
Systems psychology reminds us that behaviour is shaped far more by conditions than by intention.

Space is the condition.
Sustainable high performance is the outcome.

Why This Matters Now

Across my work with senior leaders this year, a subtle but consistent pattern has emerged: the ones who feel most depleted aren’t the busiest. They’re the ones with the least spaciousness – inside themselves, between themselves and others, and in how their system is designed to function.

Their calendars are full, yes.
But what’s actually constricted is:

• Cognitive space: the ability to think without interruption
• Emotional space: the ability to feel without suppression or spillover
• Relational space: the ability to connect without absorbing everything
• Systemic space: the ability to influence without constant firefighting

When internal space collapses, organisational space tends to follow – and that’s when leaders default to their narrowest selves: efficient but not expansive, reactive rather than wise, responsible yet overwhelmed.

These leaders are working hard – running fast to stay on top of things.
It’s not a capability problem.
It’s not even a capacity problem.
It’s a spaciousness problem.

And unlike time, space is something we can actively create – within ourselves and around us.

It’s Not Often I Say ‘More is Better…’

But as we come to the end of the year, I’m not inviting goal-setting or grand commitments.
Instead, I’m inviting more of something leaders rarely prioritise but desperately need:

The space from which they lead.

The space that lets them:

• hear themselves again
• locate what’s true
• discern what matters
• reconnect to their inner knowing
• access a steadier, wiser version of themselves

This is the foundation that makes every other leadership move better.
Without it, even the best strategies collapse under the weight of urgency, noise, and performative clarity.

With it, leaders expand – inwardly first, and then outwardly in how they influence their teams and systems.

Throughout January, I’ll be exploring the different forms of space leaders need – drawn from my latest book, Can You Hold a Bigger Space? – through the lens of leadership, culture, and identity.

Not instruction.
Not intensity.
Just gentle, grounding, practical spaciousness for your leadership in the new year.

And if you’re ready now…

Reflect:
Where in your leadership do you feel most constricted – mentally, emotionally, relationally, or systemically?

Explore:
What opens in you when you imagine creating even 5% more space in that area?

Activate:
If you’re ready to enter the new year leading from a steadier, more spacious centre – one that expands your clarity, presence, and influence – I’d love to help. Let’s talk.

With truth and love