Calm Is a Leadership Skill

When pressure rises, what do people experience from you? In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores one of the most underrated leadership skills: calm. Many professionals assume leadership under pressure means moving faster, speaking louder, and taking charge more aggressively. Research suggests the opposite. Drawing from neuroscience, military leadership studies, emotional intelligence research, and real-world leadership stories, Mim explains why calm leaders consistently create better outcomes—and why emotional regulation becomes increasingly important as responsibility grows. You'll learn how leaders influence the emotional climate of teams, how stress impacts decision-making, and a practical framework for staying grounded when everything around you feels uncertain. What You'll Learn Why calm is a leadership skill, not a personality trait The neuroscience of stress and decision-making How emotional contagion affects teams Why leaders influence the emotional climate of a room What military leadership research reveals about pressure The hidden cost of reactivity The difference between calm and disengagement The 90-Second Reset framework How leaders build trust during uncertainty Practical ways to strengthen emotional regulation Featured Research & Insights Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence research Emotional contagion studies Neuroscience research on the prefrontal cortex Military leadership performance studies Research on stress, cognition, and decision-making Leadership effectiveness studies from the Center for Creative Leadership Why It Matters The higher you rise, the more people look to you during uncertainty. Your emotional state influences how others think, decide, and perform. Calm isn't about appearing relaxed. It's about creating the conditions for good judgment, trust, and leadership when it matters most.