Créer l’espace : le pouvoir de la présence et de la réflexion

Dec 3, 2025

The final discipline of the Refocus stage is Creating Space: the intentional effort to carve out time for deep thinking, reflection, and presence. Only a small minority of leaders report creating enough time to think about the future of their organization or their key relationships. The pressure to be constantly "doing" and visible, especially in the modern environment, often crowds out the time needed for strategic thought.

This discipline involves shifting from simply managing tasks to courageously leading from a place of clarity.

The Necessity of Space

Leaders often struggle to create space because it demands intense inner work and challenges the belief that their value comes from being busy.

The Value of Thinking: Leaders are paid to think, yet they often choose to do rather than think. Clarity and direction for the team can only be created when the leader ensures there is enough space for reflection.

The Four Types of Space: Once non-essential activities are cut, leaders must be intentional about how they use the resulting time:

Thinking Space: Time dedicated to reflection on decisions, strategies, and the roots of challenges.

Connecting Space: Time to be fully present and attentive with key stakeholders, showing you truly care and value their input.

Doing Space: Time reserved for executing the few essential tasks that only you can do, done to the best of your ability, without rushing.

Being Space: The most difficult space to create, involving doing nothing but being present in the moment to manage your energy and emotional state.

Mindfulness as Practice: Mindfulness is a simple technique, a way of practicing to create mental space and time for present awareness. Regular practice helps leaders pause before speaking or making key decisions, improving overall emotional intelligence.

Conclusion: Leading with Courage and Clarity

Creating space is not a sign of weakness; it is an act of courageous leadership that sets the tone for the entire organization. When leaders build this habit, they increase their self-confidence, become more decisive, and lead with greater awareness of their impact on others. By intentionally making time for the four types of space, you shift from merely coping with your role to consciously thriving within it.

3 Essential Self-Coaching Questions

Which type of space (Thinking, Connecting, Doing, Being) am I most deficient in this week, and what is the cost of this deficiency?

What meeting or commitment can I postpone or delegate to create a continuous two-hour block of 'Thinking Space' in the next three days?

How can I use a simple mindfulness technique (like focusing on my breath) to create a 'Being Space' moment before my next scheduled interaction?

Additional Frameworks and Concepts to Explore

The Ten Components of a Thinking Environment (Nancy Kline): These components, including Attention, Incisive Questions, Equality, and Ease, are designed to maximize the quality of human thinking in meetings. Leaders use them to create a safe space where deeper reflection and better decisions can emerge.

Flow State (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi): A mental state where a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, involvement, and enjoyment. Creating space helps a leader identify the essential tasks that align with their skills and challenge level, increasing the time spent in Flow State.

The Pomodoro Technique: A time management method where work is broken down into intervals, typically 25 minutes long, separated by short breaks. This simple structured approach ensures that focused "Doing Space" is alternated with necessary mental "Being Space" breaks to prevent burnout.