The Choice That Starts the Clock
How Great Leaders Use Story to Unlock Stuck Moments
When your team is frozen by uncertainty, don’t give advice—give them a moment that gets time moving again
As I’m currently preparing for my NLP Practitioner exam in a program led by Gina Veverita, I came across a metaphor in our course materials that struck me as incredibly powerful. It speaks directly to a challenge many leaders face—guiding team members who are paralyzed by the fear of making decisions.
In leadership, especially during transformational phases when change is rapid and uncertainty is high, team members often feel stuck. It’s tempting to say, "You need to make your own decisions," but as many of us know, telling rarely inspires. Showing, especially through story, can shift mindsets more effectively.
Here’s a metaphor that does just that:
The Clockmaker Who Sets Time in Motion
They say that in a quiet village—maybe nestled in the Apuseni Mountains, or perhaps just in the corner of your thoughts—there lived an old clockmaker.
He wasn’t known for crafting the finest clocks, but for something much rarer: the silence in which he worked.
In his small workshop, he kept a single chair in front of his desk. People called it the "decision chair."
Those who found their way to his door weren’t looking to fix timepieces. They were trying to fix stuck moments in their lives. And as rumor had it, no one ever left that chair without making the decision they had avoided for months.
The clockmaker never asked questions. He simply worked, turning tiny gears, shifting silent hands, never indicating any specific hour.
One day, a young woman entered. Her eyes were tired, her planner overflowing. She perched on the edge of the chair and confessed, “I have two paths to choose from, and I don’t know which one is mine.”
The clockmaker turned a small gear and quietly replied:
"Decisions aren’t made to be correct. They’re made to set time in motion."
She paused. The silence became thick, grounding. In that stillness, she remembered a decision she had once made without certainty—but which had led her to exactly where she needed to be.
It hadn’t been the "right" choice. It had simply been alive.
The clockmaker handed her a small, curious timepiece. Its hands moved backward.
“It’s not broken,” he said. “It’s a clock that teaches you to stop running from the past.”
She held it, and for the first time in months, didn’t feel stuck between hesitation and doubt. She understood that indecision is also a form of frozen time.
She didn’t say what she’d choose—and the clockmaker didn’t ask. But when she walked out, she moved as if she were already walking both paths, until one would become clear.
It’s said that the backward clock still ticks on her nightstand, reminding her—and us—that time begins the moment we choose.
Reflections for Leaders in Transformation
In times of change, when decisions need to be made rapidly, leaders often struggle with how to guide hesitant team members. This metaphor reminds us that creating space for reflection, without pressure, can be far more effective than giving instructions.
Invite your team to the "decision chair"—not to tell them what to do, but to allow the quiet power of perspective and storytelling to unlock their own clarity. Because sometimes, what we really need isn’t a solution, but the sense that time will start again when we’re ready to move.
References:
NLP Practitioner Program by Gina Veverita