Summers in New Brunswick are short.
Every year, that reality seems to arrive with the same mix of beauty and pressure. The first warm days feel like a promise. Then, almost before you know it, the mornings have a cooler edge, the evenings start to close in, and school buses appear on the roads again.
This summer, I found myself asking a more poignant question: What am I willing to make room for while it’s here?
For me, that question had a very practical answer. I adjusted my leadership schedule and committed to coaching clients two and a half days per week. Last summer, it was three. The year before, it was four.
That change didn’t come from a lack of commitment to my clients. I remain deeply grateful for the exceptional leaders and coaches I get to work with. The work continues to energize me, challenge me, and remind me why I chose this path.
But I did become more discerning about everything surrounding the work.
Making Room for What Matters
When your calendar is full, it can give a sense of self-importance or the unspoken thought that your company cannot do without you. It can create the impression that everything on it belongs there.
I’ve learned that isn’t always true.
Some commitments earn their place. Others arrive through habit, guilt, politeness, or an outdated version of our former selvese. Some made sense at one time, but no longer fit the season we are in.
This summer, I jettisoned the unnecessary commitments. The meetings that looked important but weren’t. The obligations that took up space without adding a whole lot of meaning. The things I had been dragging around because I hadn’t stopped long enough to set them down.
What opened up surprised me: spontaneity.
That is not a word I have always associated with my working life. Like many leaders and coaches, I can be disciplined, planned, and intentional. Those qualities serve me well. They also need to know when to step aside.
The Leadership Gift of Spontaneity
With more room in my week, I revived some long-forgotten carpentry skills and added on to my deck at the campground.
I spent hours measuring, cutting, fastening, and staining. And I didn’t do it alone. My rusty woodworking aptitude definitely needed the expertise of some friends who were willing to help.
It was not glamorous work. Unlike my air-conditioned coaching studio, the 40-degree celcious heat from the blistering sun had me drenched with sweat. Still, there was something deeply satisfying about having my hands on lumber, tools, and a project that slowly began to resemble what I had imagined.
There is a particular kind of clarity that comes from physical work. You make a cut. You check the level. You adjust. You keep going.
No strategic plan required. No committee. No performance review. Just effort, patience, and progress you can see.
The looser schedule also allowed for last-minute, weather-dependent time on the water. Around here, that matters. When the sun is out, the wind is right, and summer is already counting down, sometimes the best decision is to stop overthinking and go.
Why Leaders Need Space
I won’t claim I feel marvellouslly invigorated for fall.
What I do feel is clearer. More grounded. More aware that leaders do not do their best thinking, deciding, or relating when every available space has been filled.
A full calendar can become a hiding place. It can keep us busy enough to avoid asking whether our energy is going where it matters most.
Leaders often talk about priorities, but calendars tell the truth. I can’t tell you how many times executives have screen-shared their multi-coloured calendars with me. Sometimes with a sense of pride but often with feelings of anxiety. If everything has equal access to your time, then nothing is truly being prioritized.
That is where discernment becomes a leadership skill.
- What needs your attention now?
- What can wait?
- What no longer belongs?
- What are you carrying only because you have not made a deliberate decision to put it down?
These are leadership questions. They influence the quality of our thinking, the steadiness of our presence, and the way we relate to the people who count on us.
A Stronger Fall Starts With a Clearer Calendar
As fall approaches, I’m looking forward to working with my clients and bringing with me the perspective that came from a summer with more space in it.
The lesson I’m taking forward is simple: a full calendar is not always evidence of a full contribution.
Sometimes, the most useful leadership move is deciding what no longer deserves a place on the schedule.
That decision creates room for better thinking, stronger presence, and the kind of renewal that allows us to show up with more of ourselves available.
Summer may be short in New Brunswick. The clarity it offers can last much longer.
About Brent Roy, MCC
Brent Roy is an ICF Master Certified Coach, a designation held by fewer than 5% of ICF-credentialed coaches, and is currently the only MCC in New Brunswick, Canada. Drawing on three decades in communications and leadership roles, Brent helps senior leaders strengthen their executive presence, make clearer decisions, and lead with greater intention. Through executive coaching and ICF mentor coaching, he works online with English-speaking clients across Canada and around the world.
