Time To Press Pause – Real-Life Stories from the C-Suite

Time To Press Pause - Real-Life Stories from the C-Suite
Podcast Description
The only constant is change.To successfully navigate through the change, leaders need the time and space to focus.It’s time to press pause.Ellen Williams, CEO of The Salient Strategist, is the host of these raw, intimate C-Suite "press pause" stories. Listen to the why, when, and how they knew it was time to press pause and their outcomes. Pausing to focus is crucial, whether it is minutes, days, weeks, or longer because some decisions can be made quickly, but many can’t and shouldn’t.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
This podcast centers around themes such as leadership development, personal growth, and resilience in the face of change. Topics discussed include recognizing burnout, the importance of taking strategic pauses, and the realignment of professional goals with personal values, evidenced by episodes featuring guests like Ruchi Pinniger discussing mentorship and financial guidance and Urs Koenig exploring self-assessment in leadership.

The only constant is change.
To successfully navigate through the change, leaders need the time and space to focus.
It’s time to press pause.
Ellen Williams, CEO of The Salient Strategist, is the host of these raw, intimate C-Suite “press pause” stories. Listen to the why, when, and how they knew it was time to press pause and their outcomes.
Pausing to focus is crucial, whether it is minutes, days, weeks, or longer because some decisions can be made quickly, but many can’t and shouldn’t.
In this powerful episode of Time to Press Pause, host Ellen Williams speaks with Scott Ballard, CEO and owner of Confidence Coach LLC, about the life-altering experience of exiting a business and navigating the uncertain space that follows. After building a highly successful company from the ground up, Scott found himself with time, money, and no clear plan. What began as a pause after selling his company became a deeply reflective period of personal growth and spiritual searching. During this time, Scott immersed himself in volunteer work, traveling with young adults to underserved areas around the world, seeking clarity on what came next in his journey.
Scott recounts how a simple request from a peer in his former industry to offer leadership advice reignited his purpose. That single encounter led to the realization that his true gift lay in helping others identify and overcome limiting beliefs—something he understood intimately through a childhood marked by dyslexia and destructive labeling. A pivotal figure in his early life helped him reframe his identity, sparking a lifelong commitment to mindset transformation. These formative experiences shaped his passion for coaching CEOs and entrepreneurs who, despite their external success, often feel like impostors or disconnected from their true purpose.
The conversation closes with Scott urging leaders to consider the deeper purpose behind their pauses. He emphasizes that a pause isn’t just about rest, it’s a gateway to discovering how one’s future can align more fully with their core identity and long-term legacy. His story is a powerful reminder that mindset is not only foundational to success but essential to fulfillment, and that the most significant growth often comes from intentional stillness.
For more information about Scott, visit https://www.confidencecoach.org/
For more information about Ellen, visit https://thesalientstrategist.com/

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