When Leadership Feels Stuck: Why Stepping Back Creates Momentum | Vera Chin

I’ve been thinking a lot about people-centred leadership lately… and this small moment reminded me of something important.

Meet my new friend: the manual coffee grinder 😄

My first attempt…
I couldn’t even make a turn.
It was that hard.

My husband had to step in.

Second attempt…
I learned something simple:
which muscle to activate.

It was still hard.
But at least… it moved.

Then I noticed something.

When the grinder got stuck,
forcing it forward didn’t work.

But if I turned it slightly backwards (anticlockwise),
I could regain momentum…
and move again.

A Simple Leadership Insight

Leadership (and life) can feel like that.

You push.
Nothing moves.
You try harder.
Still stuck.

But what if the move isn’t forward?

What if the move is stepping back… just enough to reset?

• to reflect

• to listen

• to realign

Not quitting.
Not avoiding.

Just repositioning for momentum.

Final Thought

Sometimes progress doesn’t look like pushing harder.

Sometimes it looks like:
knowing when to pause,
knowing when to step back,
and knowing how to start again.

🤍 Vera
Leadership & Communication Coach
Founder of The Honesty Lab & VeraChin.com