The perils of Fast Leadership
We have a term for junk food that is barely nutritious, cheaply made yet readily available: Fast Food.
We also have a term for clothing that is cheaply produced, environmentally damaging, and often reliant on exploitative labour: Fast Fashion.
I want to introduce a third term. A name for a style of influence that treats people as disposable, prioritises short‑term wins, and leans on unhealthy power dynamics. I call it Fast Leadership.
Just like fast food and fast fashion, Fast Leadership is everywhere. It’s cheap, popular, and deeply embedded in many organisations. It’s so normalised that people often shrug and call it “just the way we do things around here.”
A Public Example: “Move Fast and Break Things”
In 2012, as Facebook prepared to go public, Mark Zuckerberg wrote a letter to potential investors outlining five core values that he said guided the company. One of them was titled “Move Fast”, accompanied by the now‑famous line:
“Move fast and break things. The idea is that if you never break anything, you’re probably not moving fast enough.”
From a tech perspective, it can sound like a rallying cry for innovation.
From a leadership perspective, it carries many hallmarks of Fast Leadership.
And let’s consider the impact that this value produced:
At a town hall meeting, some employees described feeling pressure to put the company above everything else in their lives, fall in line with managerial directives, and even referred to the organisation as a “cult.”
Other employees reported fear and retribution when questioning decisions or raising ethical concerns about the impact of Facebook’s products.
A former employee, in a sworn statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, alleged that a team developing detection tools for abuse material was disbanded for being “too complex,” while senior managers asked, “What’s the return on investment?” when concern about the profilearation of child abuse material on facebook was raised.
Fast Leadership indeed.
The Broader Impact
Some would argue this leadership approach has been a success, after all, Meta’s market capitalisation reached around $1.67 trillion in 2025. For Fast Leadership, that’s the metric that matters.
In my view, Fast Leadership focuses on shallow indicators and overlooks the deeper consequences of action.
Consider some wider impacts that have been reported:
Misuse of personal data – Regulators found that Facebook allowed the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to harvest data from 87 million users without consent.
Harm to young people’s mental health – Lawsuits and research have raised concerns about the psychological effects of Facebook and Instagram use.
Contribution to violence in Myanmar – UN investigators cited Facebook as having played a role in the spread of hate speech during the crisis.
Extremist content linked to real‑world violence – Reporting has found that extremist material on the platform has been associated with actual acts of violence.
Distribution of child abuse material – According to allegations by the New Mexico Attorney General, Meta’s platforms have been used to distribute such content.
Increased loneliness – Research has linked Facebook use to higher levels of loneliness and reduced wellbeing.
That last point is particularly striking. A platform whose stated mission was to “give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together” has been linked to users feeling lonelier, more disconnected, and experiencing poorer mental health. And now, after contributing to this disconnection, Meta is positioning itself to sell digital companions and AI “friends.”
Defining Fast Leadership
In my view, Fast Leadership refers to influence that:
Is mostly negative
Focuses on short‑term gain
Abuses power
Is built on fear
Benefits few
Fails to treat people and the earth with dignity, respect, or decency
Rejects responsibility for outcomes and externalities
While the earlier example may appear extreme, many of us have seen similar leadership behaviours, perhaps on a smaller scale, in our organisations. In my experience, Fast Leadership behaviours are common, and the impact on those exposed to them are devasting.
Just as society has begun to move away from fast food and fast fashion, there is a growing shift away from Fast Leadership. Fortunately, we have an alternative in the approach known as Slow Leadership
Introducing Slow Leadership
Slow Leadership is not simply the opposite of Fast Leadership, it has emerged as a deep, intentional, and positive leadership model in its own right.
Slow Leadership is:
Conscious of impact and externalities
Focused on long‑term outcomes
Built on trust
Benefits many
Careful and ethical in its use of power
Grounded in self‑leadership
Oriented toward the whole person, communities and the broader contexts
Emerges from the inside out
Where Fast Leadership breaks things, Slow Leadership builds.
Where Fast Leadership prioritises speed, Slow Leadership prioritises substance.
Where Fast Leadership treats people as expendable, Slow Leadership treats people as essential.
Slow is Smooth
Paradoxically, the “slow” in Slow Leadership has very little to do with speed. As Bayo Akomolafe reminds us, “Slowing down is not a function of speed. It is a function of awareness and presence.” The “slow” here is an invitation, a recognition that leading well requires our full attention. It is difficult to offer that attention when we are rushing, fragmented, or pulled in myriad directions simultaneously.
Slow Leadership also acknowledges that the most meaningful acts of influence, like inspiring hope, building trust and convening people, cannot be hurried. These processes unfold in their own time. To rush them is, in many ways, to abandon them.
Similarly, there is a phrase often attributed to the U.S. Special Forces: “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” It points to a simple truth: when we move with presence, we move with precision. When we give something our full awareness, the work becomes more nuanced, more skillful, and ultimately more efficient.
Slowing down is not a delay; it is a refinement.
The benefits of Slow Leadership are already emerging in the research. A 2022 meta-analysis found that leaders who intentionally cultivate mindfulness - one of the core practices for strengthening attention and awareness - not only enhance their own wellbeing and performance but also elevate the wellbeing and performance of those they lead.
Slow Leadership is not passive. It is skillful leadership.
Getting Started
At pauseful, we guide leaders in developing the practical, embodied skills of Slow Leadership. If you feel worn down by fast leadership and sense that another way is possible, you are in good company. Here are two foundational practices to begin your exploration.
Reclaim Attention
Without the ability to direct our attention, we become reactive, pushed and pulled by external demands, notifications, and noise. Much of modern life is designed to fragment our focus. Reclaiming our attention is the first empowered act of the Slow Leader. It is how we return to ourselves.
Meditation is one of the most effective ways to strengthen this capacity. Like any skill, it may feel unfamiliar at first, but with practice it becomes a steadying force. A few suggestions as you begin:
Choose a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted, and silence your phone.
Anchor your awareness in the present moment—the breath, the sensations of the body, or the feeling of sitting.
Start small. Five to ten minutes is enough in the beginning.
Expect the mind to wander. This is not a mistake; it is part of the practice. When you notice it drifting, gently return to your point of focus.
Guided meditations can be helpful. Teachers such as Tara Brach, Kristin Neff, and Jack Kornfield offer accessible practices on Insight Timer.
Reclaiming attention is not about controlling the mind. It is about learning to meet it with steadiness.
Connect to Purpose
If leadership is influence, it is worth asking: What are we influencing for?
Purpose is both the compass and the engine of the Slow Leader. Yet many of us lose sight of it amid the tasks and pressures of daily work A powerful way to reconnect is to sit with the question:
“What is the deepest purpose of my role?”
Given time, this question can open a doorway into the meaning beneath your work.
A few reflections to support this inquiry:
Tasks are not a purpose; the outcomes they create are.
Purpose often reveals itself gradually. Returning to the question many times can help it unfold.
If you feel stuck, reflect on why you entered your field in the first place.
Another helpful angle is: “If I perform my role at the highest quality, what positive impacts become possible?”
Purpose is not something we invent. It is something we uncover.
References:
1 - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ceo-zuckerberg-facebooks-5-core-values/
2- https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/08/facebook-culture-cult-performance-review-process-blamed.html)
3- https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/08/facebook-culture-cult-performance-review-process-blamed.html
4 -https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59063768
5- https://jsis.washington.edu/news/facebook-data-privacy-age-cambridge-analytica/
7- https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/technology/myanmar-facebook-genocide.html
8- https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-violence-misinformation-a3dc1c9479e7677d6d34b4bae7dc9680
10 - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7820562/
12 - Zhou, Y., Wang, C., & Sin, H. P. (2023). Being “there and aware”: a meta-analysis of the literature on leader mindfulness. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 32(3), 299–316. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2022.2150170