The Power of SNAP: A Simple Practice for Conscious Leadership
TL;DR
SNAP (Stop. Notice. Ask. Pivot.) is a four-step mindfulness practice that helps you move from automatic reactions to conscious responses. The key insight most people miss: awareness alone isn’t enough - you need a simple framework to translate that awareness into choice. I’ve been using this practice with coaching clients since discovering it in Ian Cron and Suzanne Stablie’s work, and it consistently helps high-achievers shift from reactive to responsive leadership.
When Default Patterns Stop Serving You
I had a client call into our session a while back completely scattered. You could feel the chaos through the phone - that familiar energy of having so many things swirling that you don’t even know where to begin. Instead of diving straight into our agenda, I invited her to take some time to recenter however felt right for her.
Fifteen minutes later, she came back to the call completely transformed. The frantic energy was gone, replaced by calm focus. We could have ended the session right there - that pause was the breakthrough she needed.
Most successful people have developed incredible default patterns that got them where they are. The problem? Those same patterns often become automatic, running even when the situation calls for something different.
You respond to a strategic planning question the same way you handle a crisis. You approach a one-on-one with a direct report using the same intensity you bring to a board presentation. You react to your child’s bedtime resistance with the same urgency you use for a project deadline.
The issue isn’t your patters - it’s that you’re running them unconsciously.
Discovery Through Unexpected Sources
I first encountered the SNAP practice through Ian Cron and Suzanne Stabile’s work on the Enneagram in their book “The Road Back to You” and its accompanying guidebook. Their use of SNAP was specifically focused on learning your Enneagram type and beginning to recognize your default personality reactions.
What struck me immediately was how practical and accessible this framework was. It wasn’t asking you to become a different person - it was giving you a way to become more conscious about being who you already are.
Since reading their work, I’ve recommended SNAP to countless clients, and I’ve watched it create significant shifts not just in their self-awareness, but in their actual ability to choose different responses when their defaults aren’t serving them.
The SNAP Framework
S - Stop
This means literally stopping what you’re doing and bringing yourself back to the present moment. Be in your body. Come back to right now.
Why this matters: Most of our reactive patterns happen when we’re operating on autopilot, mentally somewhere else - replaying the past, anticipating the future, or lost in our internal narratives about what’s happening.
Who struggles with this: People who equate busyness with productivity often find the “stop” component most challenging. If you’re someone who feel guilty about not being constantly in motion, this step might feel uncomfortable at first.
N - Notice
Notice what’s going on around you and within you - without judgement. You’re not trying to fix anything here. You’re not tying to change or evaluate anything. You’re just observing both your external environment and you internal state.
Why this matters. Most of us are so focused on what we should do next that we skip over what’s actually happening right now. We miss crucial information bout the situation, about others, and about our own state that would inform a more effective response.
Who struggles with this: If you’re naturally action-oriented or solution-focused, sitting in observation without immediately jumping to “what should I do about this?” can feel foreign. The key is practicing nonjudgmental awareness.
A - Ask
Begin asking yourself powerful questions: What am I feeling right now? What am I believing right now? What am I thinking right now? Is what I’m feeling/believing/thinking true… is it really true? What if I looked at this situation from a different perspective?
Why this matters? This is where you start to create space between stimulus and response. Instead of automatically reacting, you’re getting curious about your internal experience and testing your assumptions.
Who struggles with this: People who pride themselves on being logical or rational sometimes resist acknowledging feelings as valid data. Others find it challenging to question their initial interpretations of situations.
P - Pivot
Once you’ve stopped, noticed, and asked, it’s time to pivot - meaning you get to choose what to do (or not do) next. You can move forward with your default reaction, or you can choose a different response. You can take a bit action, a small action, or no action at all.
Why this matters: This is where the rubber meets the road. All the awareness in the world doesn’t create change without conscious choice in the moment.
Who struggles with this: If you’re used to your instincts being “right,” choosing a different response can feel risky. Some people also get stuck in analysis and find it difficult to move from insight to action.
Making SNAP Work in Real Life
The beauty of this practice is its flexibility. How you use SNAP is entirely up to you, and I’ve seen clients customize it in countless ways:
Timer-Based Practice: Some client’s set timers every hour or two. When the timer goes off, they take a few moments to SNAP. This works particular well for people who get lost in their work and need regular check-ins.
Habit Stacking: Others link SNAP to existing habits. Every time they brush their teeth, they SNAP. Every time they come to a stoplight, they SNAP. Every time before they send an important email, they SNAP.
Situation-Specific: Many clients use SNAP in particular contexts - before difficult conversations, during transition between meetings, when they feel their stress rising, or when they catch themselves in familiar reactive patterns.
Duration Flexibility: SNAP can be a quick 2-minute exercise, or it can become a 20-minute journaling practice. Some clients do both - quick check-ins throughout the day and longer reflection sessions weekly.
Professional Applications
I had a client who was feeling ignored and invisible on one side and aggressive and too much on another. Through our work together, I introduced her to the SNAP practice. In one of our sessions, we discussed how her default story was that the way people treated her was personal. She would assume they were treating her a certain way because of how they personally felt about her, then later realize their behavior had nothing to do with her at all.
SNAP helped her pause before jumping to those personal interpretations. She learned to stop, notice what was actually happening versus her story about it, ask whether her interpretation was really true, and then pivot to a different response.
Another client struggled with taking responsibility for other people’s feelings and being a chronic people-pleaser. Using SNAP, he was able to catch himself in the moment when he was about to say yes to something he didn’t want to do. The “ask” component was particularly powerful for him - questioning whether he was really responsible for managing someone else’s emotional response.
The pattern I keep seeing is that people don’t need to change who they are - they need to become more conscious about when and how they deploy their natural strengths.
Starting Small, Building Sustainable Change
The goal isn’t to eliminate your default patterns - may of them serve you well. The goal is to become conscious enough to choose when to use them and when to try something different.
Start with one component that feels most accessible to you. If you’re already good at pausing, focus on the “notice” phase. If you’re naturally observant, practice asking yourself different questions. If you’re comfortable with your internal experience, work on making different choices in your responses.
Two things can be true. You can honor your natural instincts AND develop the ability to step back and choose your response. This isn’t about becoming someone different - it’s about becoming more intentional about being who you are.
The Ripple Effect
What I love about SNAP is how it works across all areas of life. You don’t need separate techniques for work stress, family dynamics, and personal challenges. You are you, regardless of the situation you’re in - and this practice helps you show up more consciously wherever you are.
Clients report using SNAP with everything from difficult team members to their children’s homework meltdowns to their own career decisions. This framework remains the same; the application is infinitely flexible.
Your Experiment
Before diving deep into SNAP, try this: For the next week, simply notice when you’re operating on autopilot versus when you’re consciously choosing your response. Don’t try to change anything - just notice.
What patterns do you see? When are your defaults serving you well? When might a different response be more effective?
This awareness alone often creates natural shifts. And when you’re ready to be more intentional about your choices, you’ll have a simple four-step framework waiting for you.
With awareness comes voice. And with SNAP, you have a practical way to access both.
This post contains insights from Ian Cron and Suzanne’s wok on the Enneagram and the SNAP practice. Their book “The Road Back to You” and accompanying guidebook provide deeper exploration of personality patterns and conscious development. This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend books that have genuinely impacted my work with clients or my own journey.
