The COVID-19 pandemic has been an incredible world-wide event that has affected everyone, both at the deep personal level, and for the organizations and communities in which we work and live. We have all witnessed astonishing acts of bravery and leadership, and unfortunately, examples of poor judgement and less-than-stellar behaviour. What sets these two paradigms apart? What have we learned from watching the global stage unfold, and how can we bring this into our workplaces and communities as we create the new next?

During the pandemic we have all experienced fear and felt unsafe, and we most likely witnessed behaviours and thoughts within ourselves and others close to us that challenged our own self-perceptions. But let’s hold judgment for a moment because emotions shape our reality, and reacting to fear is a function of the brain. It’s a survival mechanism, and it is normal. Science tells us that most humans have a negativity bias, and this enables us to be alert to potential dangers and to be prepared to react to perceived threats. It’s the brain’s survival mechanism, where the amygdala responds to threats and triggers the fight, flight, or freeze response. 

But there is much more at play. Leading in times of uncertainty and stress affects our emotions and our ability to think. Most of us feel like we need to have control, yet so much uncertainty challenges the very core of who we thought we were as leaders of organizations, communities, and families. The less we know for sure, the more we imagine the worst, which feeds the vicious circle of negative thoughts triggering an amygdala hijack. The challenge with being in threat mode is that your prefrontal cortex, (the area of the brain that processes information, plans, creates new ideas) cannot function. What was useful as an alert system to prepare you to respond to danger now becomes an impediment to your thinking, planning, and creativity.

Emotions are real and valid, and we all have both positive and negative emotions. They make us who we are. But what sets the heroes and high performers apart in times of great stress? The key is the ability to neutralize the amygdala hijack so that we can initiate our prefrontal cortex and enable our thinking brain to do its work. To be clear, managing emotions is not about denying them. It is about helping yourself move from the fight, flight, or freeze mode to think, solve problems, plan, and create.

Cultivating practices that will help you interrupt your triggers will strengthen your ability to manage your emotions. Here are a few suggestions you could experiment with: