Stillness as strategy: What a weekend in the Muskokas reminded me about leadership

Key illuminated insight

Taking space to reflect is not indulgent, it’s essential. Just like a founder needs a clear marketing plan, they also need room to think, feel, and reset. As a fractional Chief Marketing Officer, I’ve learned that strategy only sticks when it’s grounded in clarity. And clarity often starts with stillness.

Step into full illumination

This past weekend, I returned to the cottage in the Muskokas, my happy place.

It’s where I spent countless childhood summers. Where my husband proposed. Where my cousin, who is more sister than cousin, welcomes me into a space that always feels safe, calm, and grounding.

It’s not home. Home is wherever my family is. But this place offers something different. It’s a reset. A moment of pause. A mirror.

Every morning I sat on the dock with coffee in hand, staring out at the still water, perfectly reflecting the sky above and the trees surrounding it. No noise. No inputs. Just space.

And in that space, clarity arrived.

The gift of being witnessed

This weekend, I was reminded how powerful it is to be truly heard. No solutions. No performance. Just space to vent, cry, complain, and then slowly climb your way back toward the light.

My cousin does that for me (my hubby too, but in a different way). That kind of presence is rare, and it’s a reminder of what so many of us forget in our professional lives.

Not every leadership challenge needs a ten-step solution right away. Sometimes, what people need first is space to be seen. And someone to help them find their footing again.

Perspective is a form of progress

In the stillness of the lake, I found room to reflect on the past few months. On what’s worked. On what hasn’t. And on how I want to show up moving forward, not just in my business, but in my leadership.

That same pause is something I build into my work as a Fractional CMO.

Because clarity doesn’t always come from charging ahead. It often comes from stepping back, getting quiet, and looking honestly at where you are.

Strategy begins with perspective. And progress doesn’t always look like movement.

An invitation to pause

If your growth feels like it’s stalling, if the path forward is unclear, or if your team is doing a lot but not moving in the right direction, it may be time to step back.

You don’t need all the answers. But you do need space to ask better questions.

That’s what the Muskokas reminded me. And it’s something I offer to the founders and teams I work with: a clear mirror, a calm presence, and a plan, once the noise has settled.

If you’re ready for your own moment of clarity, start here with the Marketing Growth Check-In.

It’s not a pitch. It’s a pause. One that might give you the space to see things more clearly.