The myth of acceleration: Why rhythm matters more than speed

In times of transition, one reflex almost automatically appears: acceleration. More initiatives. Faster decisions.

Speed feels like decisiveness.

It gives us the sense that we are in control. That we are acting rather than waiting.

But often we accelerate because it is uncomfortable not to know. Because stillness confronts us with what has not yet fully taken shape.

In complex systems, additional speed rarely brings real clarity. It may create movement, but it can also hide what still needs time to form.

Sustainable growth does not come from constant acceleration. It emerges when an organization learns to recognize and respect its own rhythm.

I am reminded of Gaudí’s attic in Casa Batlló. The arches do not carry the ceiling through mass, but through rhythm. Each support stands at a clear distance from the next. No overload. No chaos. What holds the structure is not constant reinforcement, but pacing. Predictability in the space between.

Leadership works the same way. To carry does not mean to support everything at once. It means protecting the right interval.

Here are three reasons why rhythm matters more than speed.

1. Speed amplifies what is still unstable

When an organization is in transition, identity, roles and power dynamics are shifting.

If you accelerate in that moment, you do not only increase movement. You also increase ambiguity.

Rapid implementation without shared meaning creates fragility.

What has not been integrated becomes magnified.

Rhythm allows movement to alternate with stabilization. It gives the system time to reorganize itself.

Tip for leaders in transition

Before taking the next step, ask yourself: has what we just set in motion been fully integrated?

Deliberately schedule integration moments after major decisions. Not as performance reviews, but as conversations about what this shift means for the system.

2. Constant acceleration undermines mature responsibility

In a culture of permanent urgency, people make decisions under pressure. Not from clarity.

Urgency narrows perspective. Rhythm expands it.

When everything is a priority, leadership turns into firefighting. People react instead of positioning themselves.

Rhythm creates predictability.

And predictability is a condition for mature responsibility. People take ownership when they understand which phase they are in.

Tip for leaders in transition

Make phases explicit. Name where you are:

• Design phase

• Implementation phase

• Integration phase

• Recalibration phase

Not every phase at once. But clearly, one after the other.

Rhythm begins with language.

3. Growth is cyclical, not linear

We are conditioned to see growth as linear.

Forward means more. Bigger. Faster.

Living systems follow a different logic. They move in cycles of expansion, consolidation and recalibration.

When leaders only value expansion, systemic exhaustion follows.

Mature leaders normalize the cycle.

They understand that slowing down is not regression. It is preparation for the next phase of growth.

Tip for leaders in transition

Dare to legitimize quieter periods.

Say explicitly to your team, “This is a phase of integration.”Or, “We are building beneath the surface right now.”

When you normalize these quieter phases, fear decreases. And where fear decreases, intelligence grows.

Rhythm as mature leadership

In my work with founders and C-level leaders navigating complex transitions, I see that the real shift happens when the rhythm changes, not when people work harder.

When leaders become architects of systemic timing rather than drivers of acceleration.

Ecosystem leadership requires sensing where the system stands. It requires slowing down without losing direction. It requires taking expansion and integration equally seriously.

Rhythm is not a luxury. It is maturity.

And perhaps that is the deeper invitation of complex times: not to accelerate, but to deepen.

Photo: Attic of Casa Batlló, Gaudí, Barcelona, Wikimedia Commons