In today’s episode, we’re diving into a topic that speaks directly to the heart of what you do every day: balancing priorities.
As an HR leader, your role is filled with decisions that affect your organization, its people, and your own professional growth.
Whether you’re juggling recruitment, leadership development, compliance, or employee engagement, there’s never a shortage of things on your plate. On top of that, you’re expected to advance your career, develop your executive skills, and, of course, maintain a strong personal brand.
It can often feel like you’re spinning plates, constantly reacting to the next urgent task that demands your attention.
So, how do you keep it all in motion without feeling overwhelmed? How do you avoid burning out while still making meaningful progress toward your goals?
The truth is, it comes down to how you manage your energy, how you navigate your time, and—most importantly—how you shift between acceleration and reflection.
In today’s episode, I’m going explore what I call the One-Foot Principle. A simple but incredibly powerful concept that can help you understand when it’s time to push forward and when it’s time to pull back.
It’s all about finding the right balance between action and pause, between growth and reflection—so you can navigate your career with more intention and clarity.
Have you ever learned how to drive? Most of us have, and there’s one key lesson that sticks with you. You’re taught to use one foot.
Yes, that’s right: one foot. You only use one foot for both the gas and the brake.
It sounds simple, but it’s a powerful principle when you really think about it.
If your foot is on the gas, you’re accelerating. You’re moving forward, gaining speed, and pushing ahead.
If your foot is on the brake, you’re slowing down, pausing, or even stopping.
But here’s the catch: you can’t do both at the same time. You can’t accelerate while you’re braking, and you can’t brake effectively while you’re trying to accelerate.
To shift between the two, you must consciously lift your foot off one pedal and apply pressure to the other.
This simple act of shifting gears requires awareness and intentionality. You have to make a decision to either move forward or slow down—there’s no in-between.
And, just like driving, the way you approach your career requires similar intentional shifts between acceleration and pause.
So, let me explain why this matters and how it directly ties into your career growth and time management.
The One-Foot Principle Applied to Your HR Career
When your foot is on the gas, you’re intentionally choosing to move forward, take risks, and accelerate.
This is when you’re in growth mode—pushing yourself to new heights in your personal brand, leadership, and career.
This might look like:
- Building your personal brand through networking and public speaking.
- Seizing opportunities to lead new initiatives that align with your long-term goals.
- Making bold decisions to take on leadership roles that challenge your abilities and expand your influence.
- Building executive skills like strategic thinking, decision-making, and communication.
When your foot’s on the gas, you’re actively driving your growth and professional development forward.
It’s all about embracing challenges, expanding your reach, and positioning yourself for the next level of success.
On the flip side, there’s the brake. But just as you need to know when to accelerate, you also need to know when it’s time to apply the brake—to slow down, step back, and reassess.
Slowing down isn’t about stopping completely, but about taking intentional pauses to reflect, recharge, and recalibrate.
This phase is crucial for self-awareness, self-care, and strategic planning.
When your foot is on the brake, it might look like:
- Taking time to reflect on your career trajectory and the goals you’ve set.
- Assessing your work-life balance and taking steps to avoid burnout.
- Learning from past experiences, whether they were successes or challenges, so you can move forward with greater wisdom.
- Setting boundaries to protect your energy, ensuring that you’re not burning out by trying to do too much at once.
Slowing down also allows you to gain clarity on your next steps. Are you truly aligned with your purpose and values, or do you need to make adjustments to your career path?
Slowing down doesn’t mean stagnating. It means giving yourself the room to recalibrate, reflect, and refresh your approach.
In fact, this is often when your most innovative ideas and breakthroughs happen—when you allow yourself the time to think and adjust your course.
The Importance of Knowing When to Shift
Now it gets interesting when you need to strategically shift between the gas and the brake. Because let’s be real, life as an HR professional can be overwhelming.
There are days when it feels like you’re moving full speed ahead, managing urgent projects, supporting teams, and driving company initiatives.
But without the necessary moments of slowing down, you risk getting lost in the rush, missing opportunities to reevaluate or burning out.
On the other hand, if you’re always on the brake, it can feel like you’re stagnant, not taking action or holding yourself back. Being overly cautious and hesitant to take on new challenges can also lead to career stagnation.
The balance between gas and brake is crucial. So I want to ask you 3 questions:
- Are you pushing forward with clear purpose, or are you just going through the motions?
- Do you need to slow down and evaluate where you’re headed, or is it time to take more calculated risks?
- Are you dedicating enough time to personal growth, or are you prioritizing tasks that drain your energy?
Once you learn to shift between the gas and the brake, you’ll gain better control over your career trajectory and avoid burnout or stagnation.
Just like driving, the act of shifting between the gas and the brake requires intentionality.
As an HR Professional, Shift with Intention
As we wrap up today’s episode, I want to leave you with a challenge:
Commit to shifting between the gas and brake with intention. Here’s a strategy to help you:
- Set clear goals for where you want to go in your career—this is your accelerator.
- Create boundaries around your time, energy, and attention—this is your brake.
- Know when to shift—do you need to push forward, or do you need to slow down, reflect, and recalibrate?
The beauty of the one-foot principle is that you don’t have to stay on the brake or gas forever. You can shift between the two as needed, but the key is awareness and intentional action.
