Transition Moments

Why What You Carry In Shapes What Comes Next

We often think of transitions as the big moments in life – the new role, the restructure, the move, the shift in identity. But the truth is: we transition constantly.

In a single day, we might move from strategic leader ➝ parent ➝ negotiator ➝ coach/mentor ➝ colleague needing support ➝ decision-maker in a high-stakes meeting ➝ back to parent and partner➝ and then friend or daughter or son.

We switch roles, expectations and energy states without stopping to notice.

Here’s the interesting part: most of us don’t prepare for the next phase. We simply carry the energy of the last moment into the next – and that shapes everything from our executive presence to our performance.

The Neuroscience of What We Carry In

The brain loves efficiency. Instead of starting each moment fresh, it predicts what will happen next based on what just happened. Lisa Feldman Barrett’s research shows that our brain continually constructs emotions based on our body budget – the resources we currently have available.

That means:

• If the last meeting drained you, your brain predicts more difficulty ahead.

• If you rushed from task to task, your system registers pressure and brings that pressure forward.

• If you were frustrated or tense, that tension becomes the starting point for your next interaction.

  
  

In other words: energy leaks across transitions unless we deliberately reset.

This is where leaders often get tripped up. They may understand strategy, communication or presence intellectually – but their physiology is still in the previous moment. And physiology always speaks first.

Micro-Transitions Shape Macro-Impressions

Executive presence is not only how you speak or stand – it is the energy people feel when you enter a room.

If your system is still processing the stress of a difficult conversation, that energy is what people sense before you’ve even said a word.

Neuroscience calls this interoception – your ability to feel what’s going on inside – and it directly shapes how clearly and calmly you show up externally.

And here is another layer that matters for leadership: humans are naturally socially attuned. We pick up on one another’s emotional and energetic cues within seconds. People feel your internal state long before they consciously process your words. When you shift your energy, the room shifts with you.

This is why transition moments matter so much. Executive presence is not ionly built in the big moments. It is built in the tiny, invisible spaces between them.

Why Transition Moments Matter

A transition moment is that short pause – sometimes 30 seconds, sometimes two minutes – where you shift from one identity or task into the next.

Think of it as a reset of your cognitive and emotional system.

• If you don’t reset, the old story comes with you.

• If you do reset, you choose your state, your intention, and your impact.

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For many leaders I coach, this becomes a transformative realisation: Managing transitions is managing presence.

A Simple 3-Step Transition Ritual (60 seconds)

Here is a practice that many of my C-suite clients now use throughout the day:

1. Notice what you’re carrying.

Ask yourself: What energy am I bringing from the last conversation?

Naming is taming it and lowers its intensity.

2. Regulate your body budget.

One slow breath out.

Roll your shoulders.

Sit back.

Visualise closing the previous chapter.

This signals to your nervous system that you are safe enough to reset.

3. Set an intention for who you need to be next.

Listener? Decisive leader? Negotiator? Coach? Parent? This primes the prefrontal cortex for the role ahead.

✨ Optional Step: Use a Visual Anchor

Some leaders also find it transformative to bring in a brief visual anchor before walking into the next meeting. This can be a person who represents the qualities they want to embody — calm strength like a grandparent, grounded confidence like a trusted mentor, or even their future self stepping into the room with clarity.

For others, it’s an image:

• the stillness of a calm sea,

• the steadiness of a mountain,

• the openness of a green flower field,

• or any scene that creates space and steadiness inside.

Your brain responds to images faster than words. A simple mental snapshot can shift your physiology in seconds — helping you enter as the person you intend to be, not the one shaped by the moment before.

Small practice. Massive impact.

Transitions Are the Hidden Thread of Executive Presence

Leaders often ask me:“How do I strengthen my presence?”

My answer: Start paying attention to your transitions.

Because when you clean the mental and energetic slate between moments:

• You think more clearly.

• You communicate more intentionally.

• You react less and lead more.

• You build trust because people experience consistency, not residue.

  
  

This is executive presence at its core: Intentional energy, carried with clarity.

And the beautiful realisation?

You don’t need more time. You just need better transitions.

A Question to Reflect On

Where in your day do you move too quickly from one moment to the next – and what might change if you built a 60-second transition ritual into your leadership?

If you’d like to explore this in your coaching or with your team, I’d love to support you.

#ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipCoaching #KBCcoaching #KindDisrupter #SciencemeetsSoul