Leadership Interrupted: How to Reset When You Slip into Autopilot
Photo Credit: Eric Prouzet via Unsplash
Flipping the calendar to a new year is filled with opportunity. It’s a fresh start. A do-over. For many leaders, it’s also a moment to take stock amid what many today describe as untenable change, intense pressure, fatigue and great uncertainty.
If you are a leader, it’s your chance to do things better (or perhaps differently) than you did the past year. Here’s how we think about making these important changes using Henley Leadership Group’s Reset, Reconnect, Reimagine model.
Reset
At the heart of reset is an important assumption: no matter what our job or level is, every one of us goes on autopilot from time to time. You go heads down, blinders on and overlook the impact you’re having on others. You might lose track of a sound reading on your effectiveness. The higher up you are as a leader, the more people you impact when you’re on autopilot and the greater the reverberations throughout the organization.
A CFO I worked with years ago had grown increasingly cynical before he took the top job. He had been a Controller, and his cynical comments - dismissive remarks, skeptical asides, subtle eye rolls - were part of how he coped with pressure. When he became CFO, his influence on the organization changed, but he was largely unaware of the impact his cynicism had on others.
In an important meeting with the board of directors, he responded to one of his senior team members with a skeptical aside that quietly undercut that person’s confidence for weeks.
The CFO was unaware of this entire dynamic, but he was open to making adjustments. So I helped him with that, telling him directly, as his coach, that cynicism doesn’t work anymore, not in the top job. A cynical CFO has a far more corrosive impact on trust and engagement than that same posture coming from his previous position.
Resetting is about course-correcting. It’s about seeing yourself clearly and reflecting on what’s working and what’s not. It’s about asking what might be getting in your own way and what you can do differently to remove barriers to others’ success.
During a reset, you become more accountable. You listen to feedback. You stay open and curious. And you say yes to change, especially the changes you might not yet know how to make.
Reconnect
Let’s go back for a moment to this CFO who learned that his cynicism was undermining trust on his senior team.
Think about this simple fact: no baby is born cynical. No toddler walks around assuming the worst. Cynicism, like many habits, is learned. It develops over time, often as a response to disappointment, pressure, or repeated letdowns.
Reconnecting is about returning to who you were before cynicism became a default setting.
It’s that simple.
This is about reconnecting with what we call your core strengths. It’s about recommitting and rededicating yourself to being the best of who you are and offering that to your colleagues and team.
A little side story: sarcasm was my thing once, many years ago. When I focused on it and did a reset, the result was that I was able to make more room for my core strengths: generosity and curiosity. When I’m in good shape, these strengths are on display and they help me redirect away from cynicism. And generous, curious me - that’s the real me and the best of who I am as a leader, partner, parent and citizen.
Reconnecting is about building this important muscle so that you can lead from your core strengths in any circumstance.
Reimagine
Reimagining invites you to think bigger and from a fresh perspective. Getting out on the balcony or up on the mountain to look at the big picture. What if people actually had creative, inspired time on their hands? What might they create? How big are you willing to think?
Or consider complaining. Can you imagine what work might be like if you never heard a complaint? It’s a radical idea, and it requires imagination. For some people, even thinking about giving up complaining is a tall order.
But consider this: what if your team had all the time back that they currently spend complaining or listening to the complaints of others? What might they fill it with? After we Reset and Reconnect, space opens up to Reimagine.
A Reflection
Cynicism, sarcasm and other learned behaviors can quietly take hold over time and never serve leaders well, eroding trust, credibility and connection. Resetting begins with noticing when these patterns have become habits rather than helpful signals. Reconnecting invites us back to our core strengths, allowing us to lead with openness instead of disconnection and habit. Reimagining becomes possible when we create space and allow ourselves to see things from a fresh perspective.
Reflection Questions
Reset
• Where might I be operating on autopilot right now?
• What behaviors or habits could be creating distance or diminishing trust?
• What feedback have I been avoiding or not fully hearing?
Reconnect
• When am I most like myself as a leader?
• What core strengths show up when I am in good shape?
• What circumstances or habits pull me away from those strengths?
Reimagine
• If I had more space or energy, what might become possible?
• What assumptions could be loosened or questioned?
• What would I try if I allowed myself to think a little bigger?
Our leadership development programs offer practical ways to deepen self-awareness and lead with greater intention as we begin 2026.
Explore our full range of leadership development programs for practical tools that deepen self-awareness and strengthen your impact.
If you’re looking for a space to learn alongside other leaders, join us in Seattle for Henley Live, a full-day immersive gathering designed to help you reset your pace, reconnect to what matters, and reimagine the way you lead.
