Pause cover art

Pause

How to Lead Brilliant Work in a Busy World
Pre-order: Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can-listen catalogue of 15K+ audiobooks and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Pause

By: Shawn Vanderhoven
Pre-order: Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Pre-order Now for £12.06

Pre-order Now for £12.06

Unlock your team’s best work - even in the most distracting environments.

Is your team busy but rarely at its best? Is the pressure to do more with less pushing your people to burnout?

Most employees don’t underperform because they lack talent or ambition. They struggle because their environment makes sustaining great work nearly impossible. It doesn’t have to be that way.

In Pause, speaker and consultant Shawn Vanderhoven reveals 12 leadership practices to deliberately slow things down so your team can speed up where it matters most. Drawing from original research on over 150 major companies from Amazon to Google to LinkedIn, he shows you how to:

  • Protect focus by replacing distracting messaging habits
  • Generate momentum by turning fuzzy goals into clear targets
  • Expose the hidden workload undermining deep work
  • Turn rumination into confidence by using mistakes to fuel growth


Packed with compelling case studies and actionable tools, Pause equips you to cut through the noise, deliver exceptional results and become the boss everyone wants to work for.

‘Gives you the tools you need to focus on the things that matter. Essential!’ Kim Scott

© Shawn Vanderhoven 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

 Career Success Leadership Management & Leadership Organisational Behavior Personal Development Personal Success Time Management Time Management & Productivity Workplace & Organisational Behavior
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

You can't get your team's attention if you yourself are driven to distraction. Vanderhoven gives you the tools you need to focus on the things that matter. Essential!
I’ve spent years writing about the power of questions. But for good questions to make a difference, there needs to be space to hear them. This is the book you need to create that space.
This book isn't just a theory. Shawn did the work to find out what leaders are doing to lead great work instead of driving teams to burnout.
Shawn Vanderhoven names something every overwhelmed professional feels but often can't articulate: the invisible wake of digital detritus that managers mindlessly create for their teams. Pause is a sharp, research-backed argument for why the best leaders tap the brakes - and a clear guide for how to do it without losing momentum. Read it before your next meeting, and then cancel half the meetings on your calendar.
No reviews yet