The difference between moving and moving with purpose when facing the unexpected.

A few weeks ago, one of our clients called with big news: the lease had changed and the cost had gone up. In just a matter of hours, their organization shifted. They had a move-by date, a list of changes, and a scramble to find a new space that fit the future they were building toward. Every next step suddenly was a new problem that needed solving.

It was tough, and I understand, because I’ve done the same thing. When something unexpected lands on your desk, or in your life, the instinct is to move immediately. It feels as if the speed of your response is proof that you’re still in control. But not everyone has a plan. Not everyone knows what the next step is going to be. And what I often notice is that we never give ourselves the grace to admit that.

The urge to rush isn’t really about knowing the right next step. It’s about wanting to feel steady again. Those are two very different things, even though they both matter.

I like to think about this problem in baseball terms (hence the title). Imagine you’re standing at home plate, bat in hand, watching the pitcher chew their gum and adjust their cap. You watch the pitch come in, but by the time you decide to swing, it’s already past you. Strike one.

You try again. This time you swing and miss. Strike two. Before long, you’re swinging at everything, because it feels like you have to do something. Maybe the pitch is a team member resigning, and you feel like you have to swing right away and find a replacement today. Maybe it’s a forced move, and you feel like you have to swing and find the perfect office by tomorrow.

Sometimes we’re so focused on swinging that we forget to watch for the signs and ground ourselves before we try. A batter doesn’t know whether the next pitch will be a fastball, a slider, or a curveball. Either way, it’s up to them to watch: to notice the pitcher’s rhythm, to read the windup, to wait for the right moment instead of swinging at everything that comes their way.

Eventually the batter connects, a base hit, or a home run if they’re lucky, and the game moves on.

I bring this up because this has been a season of curveballs.

One client I worked with was asked to step back into a role they’d held years ago. One that they’d already outgrown. It wasn’t framed as a demotion, but it certainly felt like one. They had to work through what it actually meant to be back in familiar territory, and how to make it feel like a choice they were making, not one being made for them.

Another client watched a key team member, someone genuinely great at her job, announce she was leaving for an opportunity that was right for her. My client was happy for her. Still, it left a real gap that now has to be filled.

Each of these was a curveball, and each person had to adapt. Whatever they’d built their footing on, a system, a role, a physical space, shifted and the instinct was the same: fix now, figure it out later.

Here’s the thing I want you to keep in mind as you read through these stories: being adaptable at work matters, but that’s not what this newsletter is about.

Adaptability is a crucial factor for success when businesses are facing major changes like the ones we’ve discussed. The ability to adapt boosts performance, builds confidence, and strengthens learning and productivity. It’s a skill we help our clients build across every discipline, because we know how much it matters. But this isn’t simply about being adaptable; it’s about recognizing when your desire to take action comes before you actually know what the right action is.

The discomfort of not having the answer yet is not a problem to be solved. It’s information. It’s the moment where, if you let it, you get to choose your next move on purpose instead of just reacting your way through it.

That’s not the same as doing nothing. It’s the difference between moving fast and moving from a grounded place. So the next time life throws a curveball, take the beat you need to watch it first. You’ll have a much better shot at connecting, and who knows, maybe it’ll even be a home run.

Your Weekly Practice

1. Pause Before You Act

When you get knocked off course, whether it’s personal or organizational, it’s important to learn how to move through it without losing yourself in the scramble.

Resist the urge to immediately problem-solve your way out of the discomfort. The pause isn’t a delay tactic; it’s where your actual judgment gets to catch up with the situation and where you can take the next steps feeling confident.

Before you send the email, call the team meeting, or make the announcement, give yourself a few minutes to just sit and process what happened before you decide what it means, and what action you need to take.

2. Reconnect to Your Values

Before you figure out what to do, get clear on what you’re actually building and why it matters to you. Often, a curveball has a way of making everything feel urgent, making you stray from the path most important to you and your business. Remember, urgent and important aren’t the same thing.

Ask yourself: what do I want this decision to reflect about how I lead, or how I want to be led?

3. Ask What the Next Right Step Is

When unexpected situations arise, we feel the need to be thinking ten steps around, focusing on what’s happening now and what could happen later. However, that can do more harm than good, leaving us feeling like we’ve failed our organization, our team, and ourselves as leaders.

This is the opportunity to make a different decision.

Take the next right step from a grounded place instead of a panicked one, and ask what support you need to take it. You don’t have to figure this out alone and you were never supposed to.