Listen to a sample
Pause
- Narrator
- Shawn Vanderhoven
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Publish Date
- 6 August 2026
- Run Time
- 7 hours 55 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
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
Critics Review
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This zippy read offers practical strategies for slowing down and identifying goals.
Financial Times
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You cannot create a culture of hospitality if your people are not given the space to care deeply, think clearly, and be fully present. Pause shows leaders how to create that space - and why doing so has never been more important.
Will Guidara New York Times bestselling author of Unreasonable Hospitality and former co-owner of the world’s #1 restaurant, Eleven Madison Park
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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!
Kim Scott, author of bestselling books Radical Candor and Radical Respect
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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.
Michael Bungay Stanier, author of The Coaching Habit, the best-selling coaching book
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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.
Liz Wiseman, author of best-selling books Multipliers and Impact Players
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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.
Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Drive, When, and The Power of Regret
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Shawn Vanderhoven and Anne Vanderhoven
- Narrator
- Shawn Vanderhoven
- Duration
- 7 hours 55 minutes
- Release Date
- 6 August 2026
- ISBN
- 9781529943245
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Genre
- Time management, Management: leadership and motivation, Organizational theory and behaviour, Advice on careers and achieving success
Synopsis
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 habitsGenerate momentum by turning fuzzy goals into clear targetsExpose the hidden workload undermining deep workTurn rumination into confidence by using mistakes to fuel growthPacked 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
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