Stepping Away To Grow

Why stepping away matters

By Jill Whittington

Last weekend my 2 grandsons (aged 10 and 5) arrived home from a holiday abroad.

They’d only been away seven days, however when they came back, I couldn't believe how much they'd changed!

Yes, they'd grown a little taller and had a healthy glow, but that wasn't what struck me most. It was the confidence and independence they’d developed, held within the stories they couldn't wait to excitedly tell me.

They'd navigated unfamiliar places, tried new things, met new people and experienced life beyond their normal routines. Somewhere in those seven days, something had shifted.

Watching my grandsons return home made me wonder whether organisations sometimes expect people to grow without ever changing the conditions they're growing in.

We ask people to innovate while keeping them in the same meetings, the same routines and the same conversations.

Yet children don't grow because we tell them to. They grow because they're given new experiences.

Summer is nature’s reminder that growth is seasonal

We only have to look around at this time of year. Gardens flourish, trees are full of life, fields transform almost overnight.

Yet none of that growth happens because someone is constantly interfering. Nature grows because the conditions are right.

There is sunlight, space, time, rest and renewal.

As human beings, perhaps we're not so different.

We spend so much time ‘doing’ we forget to ‘be’

In organisations, we're often encouraged to keep moving.

You know the scenario - more meetings, ever increasing in-box, more deadlines, more activity.

But activity doesn't always equal growth.

Sometimes we're so immersed in delivering today's work that we never create the space needed to imagine tomorrow's possibilities.

Like children, we grow when we're exposed to something different, whether that is a new environment, a different conversation, a fresh perspective.

Simply a chance to think rather than simply react.

This is why away-days, workshops and learning experiences can be so powerful. Not because they magically solve every problem but because they interrupt the familiar.

Why stepping away matters

They create enough distance for us to notice what we've stopped seeing.

When we step away from the noise of everyday work, our minds begin making new connections. We become curious again. Ideas emerge that simply couldn't surface while we were rushing from one task to the next.

Also, the learning often isn't in the presentation. It's in the conversations over coffee and the shared laughter.

The quiet reflection on the journey home.

The moment, days later, when something suddenly clicks.

I’ve observed this first hand over the last few months with workshops I have either delivered or been a part of.

Growth isn’t always obvious while it’s happening

The reason I noticed the change in my grandsons was because I'd also had a short break from seeing them every day. Sometimes we need distance to recognise growth.

The same is true in organisations.

·       Teams often underestimate how much they've learned because they're too close to the work.

·       Leaders can become trapped in familiar patterns because they never pause long enough to question them.

Creating intentional space allows people to return differently.

Not because they've become different people overnight.

But because they've had the opportunity to reflect, recharge and reconnect with what matters.

Creating the conditions for Growth

I often talk about unlocking people's natural energy and creating environments where they can thrive.

That doesn't happen through relentless activity. It happens when we create the right conditions to understand and acknowledge how we each experience our intrinsic energy needs.

Just as a summer garden needs light, nourishment and space to flourish, people need opportunities to pause, learn, connect and experience something beyond their everyday routines.

Perhaps that's one of summer's greatest lessons. Sometimes growth isn't about doing more but about stepping away long enough to become more.

Creating your own space to grow

Of course, not everyone has the opportunity to attend an away day, conference or workshop or take holidays away. That doesn't mean that we can't create moments of growth for ourselves.

Perhaps creating space isn't something we should wait for our organisation to provide. Perhaps it's a responsibility we all have - to ourselves and to those around us. Growth doesn't always need a change of location; often it simply needs a change of pace.

Those who know me, know I am a passionate advocate for self-responsibility and integrating interventions into daily life.

Sometimes the most valuable thing we can do is intentionally step away from our desk for ten minutes. Take a walk. Sit in the garden with a notebook and reflect on the week.

Finish work half an hour earlier. Do Nothing. Breath.

Ask ourselves, What have I learnt? What's changing? What do I want to do differently?

When we take care of our own growth, we are better equipped to help others grow too.

Change is easier to see from a distance

When we give ourselves permission to slow down, we notice patterns, reconnect with our purpose and return with greater clarity, energy and intention.

For me, it's about creating the conditions for growth.

And just like my grandsons returning home with a lot more confidence, new skills and a few more stories to tell, we often come back from those moments with renewed energy, fresh ideas and a different perspective on what comes next.

When we return, we realise we've grown more than we ever imagined.

What might you discover if you gave yourself the time and space to step away? What might you come back with that you didn't know you were missing?