The Creator Pause: The Exit Door for the Victim

The team’s been locked in a budget staring contest for the last 45 minutes. No one’s blinking. No one’s breathing. Everyone’s stuck.. Someone says: 

• “There’s just nothing we can do.”

• “We’re boxed in again.” 

• “If they would just tell us what to do…”

Nods all around. Tension builds. Then silence.

It sounds honest. Reasonable, even. But listen closer, it’s not a strategy.  It’s surrender. No agency. No ownership. Just one big story: “This is happening to us.”

Inquiry: The Exit from Victimhood to Possibility

The way out of victimhood? It’s not positivity - it’s possibility. The Creator role doesn’t pretend hard things aren’t hard. This is how leaders re-enter the game, not with false optimism, but with agency. Here’s how the shift sounds:

Instead of “There’s nothing we can do.” Try “What’s one action we can take today, even if it’s small?”

Instead of “They don’t communicate.” Try “What conversation am I waiting for someone to start…that I could just begin?”

Instead of “We don’t have a say.” Try “What part of the outcome do we influence - even if it’s only 10%?”

Inquiry hands the mic to the people in the room - and reminds them they’re not just extras in someone else’s movie. Next time you hear (or mutter), “It is what it is,” pause, then ask yourself:

• “What isn’t being said yet?”

• “What might I be avoiding?”

• “What’s my role in the result I’m experiencing?”

And then: Breathe. Don’t fix. Don’t flinch. Just sit in the truth: that you have more power than it seems. That’s where the Creator lives. Victimhood says, “This is happening to me.” Leadership says, “This is mine to shape.” 

The moment you stop waiting for better conditions -  you become the one who creates them.