Why Space and Stillness is Important in Leading a Third Sector Organisation
- Mar 18, 2025
- 3 min read
Sharon Belshaw is the CEO of Clinical of Break the Silence, a charity working with people who have experienced sexual trauma. She also has a private practice working with not only people who have experienced trauma but a variety of issues. She works with adolescents and adults and is studying for her Doctorate in Psychological Trauma.
In the fast-paced world of third-sector leadership, the constant demands of funding, service delivery, and stakeholder management can leave little room for reflection. However, creating space for stillness is not a luxury; it is essential for strategic thinking, resilience, and long-term impact. By embracing moments of pause, leaders can cultivate clarity, innovation, and a renewed sense of purpose in driving meaningful change.
Third sector challenges
The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) stated in their report "Bridging the Gaps" that the charity sector as a whole in the UK subsidises state services by £2.4 Billion.
With this in mind, you would imagine with a significant financial cost-benefit, never mind the emotional, psychological, and life-impacting benefits, not only for clients of charities, their families, communities, and generations to come, that there would be enough support and funding to sustain.
However, we know this is certainly not the case; it never has been. Instead, leaders in this field are always sitting in uncertainty. This fear of letting the charity down, letting clients or service users down, and concern over the ability to keep the amazing staff that work in this sector.
What impact does this have on leaders and their teams?
Due to the competitive nature of the third sector in the scrabble for funding, it can be easy to have "workaholic leadership," whereby long hours are spent working without much balance for life. This according to Li et al. (2021) can impact team creativity and employee withdrawal. This can foster a culture of toxicity, whereby staff will see their leaders and either feel not good enough and need to commit to this culture and burnout or disengage. Can you imagine being able to embrace each day with energy, enthusiasm, and compassion and to be at your best whilst promoting wellbeing as a priority and ingrained culture this needs to be done by leading by example.
What can we do about it?
There are many ways that we try to implement ways to look after ourselves, such as running, yoga, and team sports; however, the concept of stillness and space to breathe can be exceptionally beneficial.
Petranovskaja (2025) writes a wonderful article on stillness for leaders and uses a great analogy of "a running horse cannot drink." This can be what it feels like for leaders in the third sector, the constant running and moving in your mind, pushing on to the next task and making on-the-spot decisions. However, how often do we pause and sit in that stillness?
According to the Latour Leadership Academy (2025) if we don't pause, we are not being our authentic selves, we need this authenticity and reflection to lead our organisations and when we pause, we grow our self-awareness and reconnect with our core values.
How do we practice stillness?
Taking time away from your desk
Switching phones to Do Not Disturb, what can go wrong in 30 minutes?
Get out in nature, whether it is at a beach, park, or woodlands
Focusing in on your breathing.
Meditate
Put gaps in your diary; it doesn't need to be full
Embrace creativity: write, journal, read, paint
No external noises, no music or background television
Just sit
Don't feel guilty for embracing stillness. You were never meant to be constantly working for hours on end.
Whilst we can't change the structure of third-sector challenges, we can change how we work in it, and in turn, if leaders and employees all embrace stillness, it results in better health and contentment.
Read more from Sharon Belshaw
Sharon Belshaw, CEO-Clinical of Break the Silence
Sharon Belshaw, CEO-Clinical of Break the Silence and Psychotherapist, works with people who have experienced trauma, loss and anxiety. She also supports staff who have experienced vicarious trauma through their work. She has written and published articles on autism and sexual abuse awareness for parents, supporting vulnerable women in maternity services and sexual abuse awareness.
This article was written in collaboration with Lesley Craig.
Latour Leadership Academy (2025) Finding Authenticity as a Leader: The power of stillness.
Li Q., She Z., Yang B. (2021). The impact of leader workaholism on team creativity. Sci. Sci. Manag. S.T. 2 146–160.
Petranovskaja, N. (2025) Why Leaders need a "place of stillness." Medium.
