--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: High performance leaders know they have…" description: "\"High performance leaders know they have to breathe out when they are coming up for air.\" — Andy Hargreaves" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cee/andy-hargreaves-4648_air_high-performance-leaders-know-they-have_1719907.png" --- # High performance leaders know they have to breathe out… ![“High performance leaders know they have to breathe out when they are coming up for air.” quote by Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cee/andy-hargreaves-4648_air_high-performance-leaders-know-they-have_1719907.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cee/andy-hargreaves-4648_air_high-performance-leaders-know-they-have_1719907.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cee/andy-hargreaves-4648_air_high-performance-leaders-know-they-have_1719907.png) > “High performance leaders know they have to breathe out when they are coming up for air.” [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective leaders recognize the need to pause and breathe before acting under pressure. **In simple terms:** Leaders must pause and breathe before acting Key Takeaway Pause, breathe, then act Themes leadership stress management mindfulness Mood calm focused Type motivational practical When to use this quote - high‑stakes meetings - crisis response - public speaking Key Concepts Emotional regulation decision making Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance pause with urgency? - When does breathing help versus hinder? A Different Perspective Over‑emphasis on calm can delay urgent action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Performances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performances/) ## Related quotes > [High performance leaders create an inspiring future by connecting with a classic and honorable past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/high-performance-leaders-create-an-inspiring-future-by-connecting/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [A hallmark of high performance leaders is the ability to influence others through all levels and types of communication, from simple interactions to difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-kohlrieser/a-hallmark-of-high-performance-leaders-is-the-ability-to-influence/) [George Kohlrieser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-kohlrieser/) > [High performance leaders capitalize on crises to galvanize the motivation and actions of people in the organization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/high-performance-leaders-capitalize-on-crises-to-galvanize-the/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [Yet where is your inner value when you no longer know what it is to breathe freely; when you no longer have freedom over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/yet-where-is-your-inner-value-when-you-no-longer-know-what-it-is-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Companies that create tight links between their strategies, their plans, and, ultimately, their performance often experience a cultural multiplier effect. Over time, as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mankins/companies-that-create-tight-links-between-their-strategies-their/) [Michael C. Mankins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mankins/) > [“..I need to know that I can still breathe properly when he's not around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-need-to-know-that-i-can-still-breathe-properly-when-he-s-not-around/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [I just . . . knew, the way you know how to breathe or to pull your hand back from a hot stove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilith-saintcrow/i-just-knew-the-way-you-know-how-to-breathe-or-to-pull-your-hand-back/) [Lilith Saintcrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilith-saintcrow/) > [Only those who know how to breathe will survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shriram-sharma/only-those-who-know-how-to-breathe-will-survive/) Shriram Sharma > [Trust your reader. Not everything needs to be explained. If you really know something, and breathe life into it, they'll know it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-freud/trust-your-reader-not-everything-needs-to-be-explained-if-you-really/) [Esther Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-freud/) > [“Don’t wait until Christmas to show love. You never know those who will breathe their last breath before the sacred season.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/don-t-wait-until-christmas-to-show-love-you-never-know-those-who-will/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Forget about enlightenment. Sit down wherever you are and listen to the wind that is singing in your veins. Feel the love, the longing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-welwood/forget-about-enlightenment-sit-down-wherever-you-are-and-listen-to/) [John Welwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-welwood/) > [I'm not into, Hey, what's your sign? or any of that. But I don't know how I got here, and I don't know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/i-m-not-into-hey-what-s-your-sign-or-any-of-that-but-i-don-t-know-how/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [Stop worrying about your death because you never know when you will take your last breathe and if you will die tomorrow then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shubhanshu-tiwari/stop-worrying-about-your-death-because-you-never-know-when-you-will/) [Shubhanshu Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shubhanshu-tiwari/) > [“You do not have to see the air to know you breathe it. You do not have to see the truth to believe it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-smith/you-do-not-have-to-see-the-air-to-know-you-breathe-it-you-do-not-have/) [Kathryn Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-smith/) > [People think just because you get slapped on your butt and start to cry when you're born, you know how to breathe and stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rickson-gracie/people-think-just-because-you-get-slapped-on-your-butt-and-start-to/) [Rickson Gracie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rickson-gracie/) ## More by Andy Hargreaves > [Educational reforms are like ripe fruit. They rarely travel well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/educational-reforms-are-like-ripe-fruit-they-rarely-travel-well/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [It is not the time to put school districts up for auction. Now is the time to galvanize them into action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/it-is-not-the-time-to-put-school-districts-up-for-auction-now-is-the/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [Too often, shared visions really mean, "I have a vision; you share it!"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/too-often-shared-visions-really-mean-i-have-a-vision-you-share-it/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [If we're all on the same page, no one's reading the whole book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/if-we-re-all-on-the-same-page-no-one-s-reading-the-whole-book/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [Courageous leadership is not fearless leadership. What makes you a leader is how you deal with your fears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/courageous-leadership-is-not-fearless-leadership-what-makes-you-a/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [Leadership is the cigarette that's smoked once the change has been consummated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/leadership-is-the-cigarette-that-s-smoked-once-the-change-has-been/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [Every solution has a problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/every-solution-has-a-problem/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [Too many professional development initiatives are done to teachers - not for, with or by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/too-many-professional-development-initiatives-are-done-to-teachers/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [Pompous asses knows how to put the moan in sanctimonious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/pompous-asses-knows-how-to-put-the-moan-in-sanctimonious/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [Teaching is a never-ending story. The work is never over; the job is never done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/teaching-is-a-never-ending-story-the-work-is-never-over-the-job-is/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [It's time for the US to widen its circle of learning, not to circle its wagons against hostile ideas in education reform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/it-s-time-for-the-us-to-widen-its-circle-of-learning-not-to-circle/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [Teaching is not the oldest profession. But it is certainly among the loneliest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/teaching-is-not-the-oldest-profession-but-it-is-certainly-among-the/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [Students and their families carry more responsibility for student success in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/students-and-their-families-carry-more-responsibility-for-student/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [Singapore gives 10% "white space" time to all of its teachers to come up with their own innovations outside of the official curriculum. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/singapore-gives-10-white-space-time-to-all-of-its-teachers-to-come-up/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [On learning: if you really want alignment, go to a chiropractor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/on-learning-if-you-really-want-alignment-go-to-a-chiropractor/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) [Explore all 108 Andy Hargreaves quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [There was a little nook on Air Force Two that contained the vice presidential seal, and I would sort of wedge myself in there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/there-was-a-little-nook-on-air-force-two-that-contained-the-vice/) [Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“It is unnatural to fear something natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unnatural-to-fear-something-natural/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) Browse all 6,278 Air quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "High performance leaders know they have to breathe out when they are coming up for air.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andy Hargreaves" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/high-performance-leaders-know-they-have-to-breathe-out-when-they-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Air" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/high-performance-leaders-know-they-have-to-breathe-out-when-they-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cee/andy-hargreaves-4648_air_high-performance-leaders-know-they-have_1719907.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cee/andy-hargreaves-4648_air_high-performance-leaders-know-they-have_1719907.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cee/andy-hargreaves-4648_air_high-performance-leaders-know-they-have_1719907.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“High performance leaders know they have to breathe out when they are coming up for air.” — Andy Hargreaves", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andy Hargreaves", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "High performance leaders know they have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/high-performance-leaders-know-they-have-to-breathe-out-when-they-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/high-performance-leaders-know-they-have-to-breathe-out-when-they-are/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```