A Pause With Purpose

– It’s not a goodbye. See you here again soon!

WHY I WROTE; AND WHY I AM PAUSING

This is the eighteenth edition of The Faith-Conscious Leader.

I began this newsletter dreaming of some vague end. (“Let me get to 52 weeks first!”)

I did start with why.

Earlier this year, I emerged from a medical tribulation that slowed me down physically and inwardly. Reclamation (read: recovery) has a way of stripping away urgency and excess. What provoked me was a recurring question:

How do we lead, work and decide while remaining anchored in faith across everyday professional life?

This newsletter became a place for me to explore that question in public. I wrote as a learning practitioner reflecting in real time, shaped by coaching conversations, lived experiences and ongoing self-examination.

Writing weekly required steadiness, consistency, not to mention consumption of time! It required showing up with sincerity even when clarity was still forming. Over time, the writing became a discipline of attention and intention. Alhamdulillah (all praise and thanks be to Allah).

This final edition before a pause is a moment of stocktaking.

THE ARC OF THE JOURNEY

Looking back, these eighteen editions followed a progression that only became clear in hindsight.

The early editions focused on orientation.

I began by reflecting on leadership of the heart, identity and inner coherence. I explored how productivity systems, strategic language and professional frameworks influence behaviour and decision-making. Several editions examined how secular assumptions surreptitiously shape how we work, measure success and define effectiveness.

I deliberately went into application.

I explored faith-conscious productivity, bureaucratic realities, mission-driven strategy and leadership under pressure. I reflected on adversity through prophetic examples and personal experience, focusing on resilience, realism and responsibility.

The focus toggled outward-inward.

Several editions centred on stillness, emotional intelligence, renewal and purification of the heart. These reflections were grounded in conversations with leaders, community dialogues and personal struggle. They examined how emotional maturity shapes leadership presence and judgment.

The more recent editions moved assuredly into practice and structure.

Stocktaking (muhasabah) was introduced as an inward leadership discipline. The Business Model Canvas was revisited through a faith-conscious perspective. Paradigm shifting was explored as a prerequisite for renewal. Most recently, Anchored Goals translated inner clarity into a one-year planning structure grounded in roles, focus and steady review.

That most recent edition forms an important part of this journey. It connected renewal of the heart with practical goal-setting and showed how clarity can be sustained across twelve months through simple, repeatable practices.

Taken together, the editions traced a movement:

awareness
responsibility
reflection
renewal
structure

This sequence reflects how change unfolds in real leadership life.

WHAT THIS WRITING HAS BEEN FOR ME

Writing these editions has been a form of discipline and self-examination.

Each weekly theme required honesty. I could not write about sincerity without examining my own intentions. I could not write about ihsan (excellence) without noticing where I struggle to uphold it. I could not write about renewal without trying to practise it personally.

The process slowed my thinking. It refined my language. It shaped how I listen.

Some of you interacted with me privately. Some shared how a framework clarified a decision. Others reflected on how a question had them ponder longer than expected. Those exchanges affirmed that reflective writing still has a place in leadership conversations.

WHY A PAUSE NOW

A pause creates space for listening.

After eighteen consecutive editions, I sense the need to step back from publishing this newsletter in order to reflect more deeply on what has been written and what is still forming.

This pause is for:

reflection
prayer
learning
re-alignment

I am not stepping away from coaching, community or conversations. I am simply creating space before the next phase of writing emerges.

I am comfortable not defining the length of this pause.

Before reading further, take a moment to sit with stillness:

If you can’t view the above video, click here.

Allah brings the morning in its time.

I am entering a period of reflection and resetting. This pause is part of listening, recalibrating intention and allowing what is next to take form with clarity.

AN INVITATION

If you are new to this newsletter, this is a good moment to explore the earlier editions slowly.

If you have been reading from the beginning, thank you for accompanying me on this journey.

If something from these eighteen editions has affected you, allow it to mature. Let it move towards decisions gradually. Let it shape how you show up in leadership, work and relationships.

You know you can reach me easily. ☺️

As for me, I will return to the newsletter when clarity asks to be shared again.

Until then, may our pauses be intentional and our actions be guided.

“O Turner of the hearts, keep our hearts firm upon Your way.”

Aamiin.

Hasannudin Saidin, CEO Coach | Helping leaders integrate faith, clarity and results

CLOSING INVITATION

Even as this writing pauses, the conversations continue.

If these reflections on leadership, the heart and renewal resonate with you, I invite you to join our next Faith-Conscious Professionals gathering. It is a quiet, thoughtful space where leaders come together to reflect, listen and learn from one another through the lens of faith and lived experience.

Wednesday, 21 January 2026
2:00pm – 3:00pm (Malaysia time)
LinkedIn registration:
https://www.linkedin.com/events/7406888310029062144/

There is no obligation to speak. Come as you are. Stay present. Take away what you need.

For those who sense that reflection needs more space and structure, I am also holding a Paradigm Shifting for Renewal workshop in January. It is a full-day opportunity for leaders to step away from routine, practise muhasabah with care and examine the inner assumptions shaping their decisions and direction.

This is not for everyone, and it does not need to be immediate. It is simply an option for those who feel ready to sit with deeper questions and listen more closely to what the heart is saying.

Details are here, if and when you wish to explore:
https://coachhasan.com/paradigm-shifting-for-renewal

Whether through shared reflection or quiet self-examination, may we continue to renew our leadership with sincerity and steadiness.

Insha Allah.

Next newsletter edition: ? (after this pause)

Previous newsletter edition: 4th Tuesday (Dec 2025) – Faith-Conscious In Practice

The Faith-Conscious Leader newsletter delivers weekly insights to Muslim leaders who want to integrate faith, strategy and impact in their professional lives.
Each month cycles four themes (plus one, unthemed) designed to balance inspiration with practice:

1st Tuesday – Faith-Inspired Strategy: applying Qur’anic and Prophetic wisdom to vision, decisions and direction.
2nd Tuesday – Leadership with Ihsan: leading people and shaping culture with excellence, fairness and compassion.
3rd Tuesday – Inner Mastery & Renewal: building resilience, patience, and clarity through intention and spiritual grounding.
4th Tuesday – Faith-Conscious in Practice: translating principles into tools, case studies and real-world applications.
5th Tuesday (when there is) – Unscripted: flows without a fixed theme – faith-conscious insights, spiritual stories and leadership lessons in raw form.

HAPPY NEW GREGORIAN YEAR!