Creating Clearings: The Leadership Skill You’re Probably Neglecting

For me, the past month has been consumed with moving house. Packing and unpacking - arduous as it is - gives time for reflection. You also notice things. Packing up reveals just how much of our lives are wrapped up in objects.  

But what struck me most was not the things. It was the spaces. 

Standing in the empty rooms of our old home, I felt a sense of expectancy - like the house itself was ready to welcome its next life with a new owner. And stepping into the emptiness of our new home felt like a blank page waiting to be written on. 

We had left a clearing and entered a new clearing. To me, this was both stimulating and exciting. Where else in my life could I create such a clearing? 

Why Leaders Need Clearings 

In leadership, we are always talking about driving forward, making decisions, and delivering results. But some of the most transformative leadership moments don’t happen when we’re charging ahead - they happen when we create a clearing. 

A clearing is more than an empty slot in our calendar. It’s not simply downtime. It’s a deliberate space - free from noise, demands, and the gravitational pull of the urgent - where something new can take shape. 

The philosopher Martin Heidegger used the metaphor of a “clearing in the forest” (Lichtung) to describe the open space where truth and new understanding can emerge. Leadership scholar Otto Scharmer, in his book Theory U, describes this as “presencing” - stepping into a space of stillness where fresh insight can arise. 

Where others see “nothing happening,” leaders who understand the power of a clearing see possibility. In these rare, unhurried spaces, we can reflect deeply, challenge assumptions, and re-imagine the future without the distortion of constant activity. 

The question is: Do we protect enough clearings in our leadership life? Or is every inch of our mental landscape filled to the tree line, leaving no open ground for the next big idea to land? 

 My Rehearsal Tips 

Look ahead at the next two weeks in your calendar. 

🎭 Step 1: Protect the space. Each week find at least one block of time you can hold - even just 45 minutes. 

🎭 Step 2: Enter it with openness. Bring no agenda other than to reflect, listen, and imagine. 

🎭 Step 3: Ask a possibility question. “What wants to take shape here, and how might it emerge?” 

Sometimes the most powerful leadership move is not to push harder, but to step back, open the space, and allow it to speak to you. 

✨ Because in leadership, as in life, creation doesn’t always come from filling -  sometimes it comes from clearing. 

Copyright 2025 Veronica Allardice - Founder Theatre of Leadership.com