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Back to Basics: Reacting vs. Responding - The Leadership Shift That Changes Everything

The Human Side of Business Podcast · 2025-07-03 · 30 min

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This inaugural episode of the "Back to Basics" series tackles one of the most foundational leadership shifts: moving from unconscious reactive responses to intentional, conscious leadership choices. Angie McCabe (CEO and co-founder of Intuitive Performance) and consultant Maria McCog discuss why soft skills - emotional intelligence, active listening, conflict management - matter more than technical expertise. They ground the conversation in research, citing a 2022 Harvard Business Review study showing 89% of executives struggle with soft skill areas, and a McKinsey finding that 70% of employees prioritize emotional intelligence over technical proficiency in leaders. The core practice they introduce is "pause, breathe, choose," anchored in neuroscience: it takes approximately six seconds to shift from amygdala reactivity to prefrontal cortex reasoning. The episode walks listeners through three practical implementation steps: developing self-awareness around triggers and physical stress signals, using physical cues to anchor yourself (stress balls, water sips, grounding objects), and creating intentional time before responding (taking 10 minutes, asking for 24-48 hours). McCabe and McCog emphasize that leaders modeling this behavior simultaneously reduce turnover by up to 63% and increase engagement by 76%, creating real organizational value while building a psychologically safe culture where reflection and processing time are normalized rather than viewed as weakness.

Key takeaways

  • →Leadership effectiveness depends on the pause muscle - developing the ability to take a 6-second breath before responding, which allows the prefrontal cortex to activate rational decision-making instead of reactive amygdala responses.
  • →Leaders who model self-awareness and intentional responding create psychological safety that increases team productivity by 12% and excellent performance reporting by 27%, while reducing turnover by up to 63%.
  • →Self-awareness begins with noticing physical stress signals in your body (tension, elevated heart rate, tight jaw) and using anchoring techniques like stress balls, water sips, or grounded breathing to interrupt automatic reactions.
  • →Creating explicit space and time for responses - saying "let me get back to you in 10 minutes" or "I need 24-48 hours to process" - should be normalized during onboarding and modeled consistently to build a learning culture.
  • →Responding differs fundamentally from reacting: reacting is protective and defensive on autopilot, while responding is intentional and creates opportunity for curious questions, active listening, and values-aligned leadership rather than emotionally-fueled decisions.

Guests

Maria McCog

Topics in this episode

Psychological safetylearning cultureEmotional intelligenceself-awarenessActive listeningConflict managementIntuitive PerformancePrefrontal cortex vs. amygdala responsePause breathe choose frameworkTeam engagement and retention

Questions this episode answers

What's the difference between reacting and responding in leadership?

Reacting is an immediate, often emotional autopilot response that can be protective or defensive. Responding is intentional and creates a pause where the power lies - it involves asking curious questions and making values-aligned choices rather than emotionally-fueled decisions.

How long does it take to move from a reactive amygdala response to rational decision-making?

Research shows it takes approximately six seconds for the brain to shift from amygdala reactivity to prefrontal cortex activation, where rational decision-making happens. This is why the "pause, breathe, choose" practice is essential.

What are the business impacts of leaders developing emotional intelligence and responding skills?

Leaders who model intentional responding reduce turnover by up to 63%, increase team engagement by 76%, boost team productivity by 12%, and make teams 27% more likely to report excellent performance, according to Gallup and TalentSmart research.

What physical techniques can leaders use to interrupt reactive responses in real-time?

Techniques include planting your feet, using stress balls or grounding objects, anchoring to your breath, holding a rock or worry stone, or taking a longer sip of water during meetings - these create the pause needed to shift from reaction to response.

How should leaders introduce responding and reflection practices to their teams?

Leaders should be transparent about their intention to practice new strategies, model the behavior consistently, ask permission before giving feedback on how team members are showing up, and normalize processing time and reflection by asking onboarding questions about how people prefer to receive and process information.

Conversation analysis

Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.

Share of words spoken

  • Speaker B55%
  • Speaker C34%
  • Speaker A11%

Most-used words

leadership23back17human12podcast12performance12team12awareness12self11emotional10today10practice10feel10side9leaders9learning8culture8

Episode notes

Send us Fan Mail Ever felt that tightness in your chest before a big decision, a tough conversation, or when a deadline looms? We all have. But here’s the truth: Leadership isn’t about reacting - it’s about choosing. In this kickoff to our Back to Basics Series , we break down the core skill that separates leaders who spiral under pressure from those who lead with clarity and presence: the shift from reacting to responding. In this episode, we unpack: How to recognize your emotional triggers before they hijack your leadership The science and practice of pausing under pressure Tools for responding with intention (even when your inbox is exploding) Leadership lives in that space between stimulus and response. If you want to build trust, make better decisions, and lead with confidence in chaos, this conversation will give you a clear, practical starting point. Hit play, slow down, and let this episode become your reminder: The most impactful leaders don’t just do more - they choose better.

Full transcript

30 min

Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.

Speaker A: Hi and welcome to the Human side of Business podcast. I'm Angie Cabe, CEO and co founder of Intuitive Performance. I'm a performance coach, HR professional, whole person leadership facilitator and your host. The Human side of Business podcast is fueled by the genuine curiosity to understand how personal characteristics and skills can be leveraged to drive individual and team performance, tangible outcomes and ultimately organizational success within business. Each podcast is devoted to sharing knowledge, expanding our learning edges, and exploring the trends in corporate culture towards growing the emotional intelligence of organizations. I'm so glad you're here. Hi and welcome to the Human side of Business podcast. I'm Ange McCabe, CEO and co founder of Intuitive Performance. I am a performance coach, HR professional facilitator and your host. The Human side of Business podcast is fueled by the genuine curiosity to understand how personal characteristics and skills can be leveraged to drive individual and team performance, tangible outcomes and ultimately organizational success within business. Each podcast is devoted to sharing knowledge, expanding our learning edges, and exploring the trends in corporate culture towards growing the emotional intelligence of organizations. I'm so glad you're here.

Speaker B: Welcome to the Human side of Business where we explore what it really takes to lead with empathy, clarity and impact in today's workplaces. I'm your host, Angie McCabe and today I'm joined by one of our well loved intuitive consultants, Maria McCog. Maria, welcome.

Speaker C: Thanks Ange. I'm excited to be here.

Speaker B: Today we're kicking off a brand new 10 part series where we're calling Back to Basics, a series focused on the core human skills that underpin excellent leadership. These aren't abstract ideas or corporate buzzwords. These are habits. And just like going to the gym, you build leadership strength through reps, practice and intentional efforts. Now more than ever, leaders are required to cultivate the people skills needed to get the job done. And in fact, a uh, 2023 report by McKinsey found that 70% of employees said emotional intelligence and leadership was more important to them than technical proficiency. And I believe it.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: We've shifted from seeing humans as limitless resources to recognize people as humans first than professionals at work. Emotional intelligence, compassion and communication aren't nice to haves. They're the bedrock of performance, trust and retention in today's workplace. This series is about grounding leadership in those fundamentals.

Speaker C: Mhm. Exactly. So many leaders we work with say I know what I should do, um, but in the moment I just react or, or I just have to react. And that's why today's episode is all about how to Move from reacting to responding. From unconscious, unconscious emotional patterns to conscious leadership choices. So m, before we dive into the first core skill, let's set the stage. What inspired this series? An, that's a great question.

Speaker B: Honestly, we kept seeing this as a pattern.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: So leaders, especially new or emerging ones, were overwhelmed. They were drowning in frameworks, certifications, performance metrics. But the gaps we were seeing, they weren't in knowledge. It was really about the behavioral side of things. And this, as we dub it in human skills, listening, regulating, owning their voice. Um, adding a nice factor tidbit into this, we've seen that Harvard Business review study from 2022 showed that 89% of executives cited difficulty in soft skill areas like conflict management and active listening, not strategy or analytics, as a top reason for leadership and effectiveness. These are the reps that really create sustainable leadership.

Speaker C: Yeah. And if you skip these basics, the fancy tools don't land or, or you don't get the opportunity to, to practice them.

Speaker B: Exactly. So we said, what if we stripped it all down and built a 10 part leadership fundamentals series? Not about titles or theory, but just building better habits when it comes to leadership.

Speaker C: Just the human stuff.

Speaker B: Right. Focusing M in on reacting versus responding. What do we mean by this, Maria?

Speaker C: Yeah, so reactivity is that immediate, often emotional, autopilot response. Um, it can be protective, defensive, even controlling in some cases.

Speaker B: Huh.

Speaker C: Responding on the other hand, is intentional. It creates pause. And in that, pause is where the power is. So we're really talking about building, building a pause muscle.

Speaker B: Yeah, I like that you're tying it back into those leadership reps. It sounds simple, but it's one of the hardest shifts a leader can make, especially under pressure. And that's why the mantra we use is pause, breathe, choose. That's a rep. That's a practice. Full stop.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: So you literally are taking a six second pause because research shows it takes approximately six seconds to move from our amygdala to reactive responses to activating our, uh, prefrontal cortex, where rational decision making lives.

Speaker C: Yeah. Can you, can you give us an example of what this might look like in, in the wild?

Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. So imagine a team member pushes back on your idea in a meeting.

Speaker C: Um, we've all had this, right?

Speaker B: Reacting might sound like, well, that's not what we agreed upon. Or even shutting them down or the conversation itself. Responding looks like taking a breath, thanking them for their inputs and asking a curious question. Can you say more about what you see that I might be missing here? Or what brought you to that Difference of agreement.

Speaker C: Yeah. It changes the entire tone. And it models something as well, which I think is sometimes forgotten when managers respond is that it's not only you controlling or not controlling. We won't use the word controlling, but harnessing the power of that moment. But also then you're modeling it in hopes that the person that you're talking to takes that with them.

Speaker B: Mhm. Mhm. Absolutely. And it allows you to lead in a way that is values aligned, not just emotionally fueled.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: So this is where the reps really pay off. To your point. And studies show that emotional intelligent leaders reduce turnover by up to 63% and increase team engagement by 76% according to town Smart research. This is substantive.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: And to put it into numbers or real, real world context, we're looking at two times someone's salary. So depending on the size of your organization, 63% in reduction of turnover, that equals millions.

Speaker C: Mhm. That's huge. So how do we foster it in our teams?

Speaker B: Yes. Bringing it back down to grassroots. I think that's why first, to your earlier point, they, they model it. Yeah. It's visible and it's consistent. So when a leader pauses before responding, it really acknowledges their emotional response or openly course corrects and it gives the team permission to do the same.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: Secondly, this creates space. So this might mean normalizing moments of silence and encouraging reflective check ins after tough conversations or saying things like let's maybe take a moment to think through this before we respond.

Speaker C: I like that because it, yeah. It's so underutilized. I think very much so. The name it to tame it.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: Take the time.

Speaker B: Take the time.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: And it's not coming from a place of passive aggressiveness. I want to be clear about that. It's really coming from a place as a leader you're regulating and helping or I shouldn't say you're, it's your responsibility but rather you're helping regulate your team members around you by example.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: And thirdly, they reward self awareness. And again coming in from a research back perspective, Gallup has shown that teens who feel psychologically safe where uh, self awareness is validated essentially are 12% more productive and 27% more likely to report excellent performance. Wow.

Speaker C: Yeah. So it's a boat shaping culture as well. Mhm M mhm.

Speaker B: Exactly. It's not just about managing ourselves, it's about helping others develop the muscle too. So it goes back to as a leader, you're, you're the example of what regulation looks like.

Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what are a couple of simple ways leaders can start doing reps here?

Speaker B: Number one, we really want to practice awareness. Oftentimes you will hear on our podcast, or if you've worked with us and past, uh, friends out there, it's really starting from within when it comes to leadership. So it's noticing when you're emotionally charged and that alone is a rep. So to your point, naming it to taming it. So if someone disagrees with you, is that a trigger or is that simply a conversational piece for you?

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: How are you going to react to that? Maybe it's something totally different. Number two, you can use physical cues so you can anchor to your breath or plant your feet when you feel a reaction rising.

Speaker C: I know. You and I even have, like, stuff on our desks.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker C: We're both rock nerds. Yes. So yeah, having a physical object to just like hold to keep you grounded.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: You're anticipating, you know, some type of conversation. Yeah.

Speaker B: It could be a stress ball, it could be a golf ball. Whatever works for you. That could be your cue.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: That you need to take, as you would say, take a beat or take a pause.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: Number, um, three. Through creating that time. So even saying, let me get back to you in 10 minutes, this buys you the space to choose your response. Now, if we're in meetings, one tip or trick that has been reflected and validated back to us is taking a longer sip of water.

Speaker C: Oh, okay.

Speaker B: Because you may not be able to buy or ask for that 10 minutes of time and space, but when you're physically taking a drink of water, people respect the fact that that's your space. Because you can't talk when you're drinking water.

Speaker C: I mean, it could get messy. You could try.

Speaker B: You could try. But yeah, I don't know. Yeah, I don't know.

Speaker C: I love that. So we often think speed is a strength in leadership, but slowing down is actually the power move, which I feel has probably become exponentially harder with our like, instant validation culture that we're in.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker C: Everything needs to be instantaneous. Um, yeah. But slowing down is actually the power. The power move.

Speaker A: Right. And.

Speaker B: And it doesn't mean necessarily all of the times slowing down to a snail pace. No, but instead of, you know what I picture in my head, instead of stomping on the gas, you're just gently accelerating.

Speaker C: Yeah. Through something.

Speaker B: Right. Um, the other thing that was coming up for me when you were talking is that we need, as leaders, I believe we need to really ensure that we are allowing the time and space for things to be processed because we don't function all of the same way. We don't learn the same way.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: And normalizing the fact that a conversation does not need to be started and stopped in an hour.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: But rather it could be a flow and a continuous conversation and opening the invite for the same. Whether it's good, bad, indifference. Right. Um, and, and I think also too, you said it earlier in our roundtable meeting with our intuitive staff this morning, Maria. It's not about being perfect. It's really about being intentionous or conscious about building that muscle.

Speaker C: Absolutely. Yeah. I'll share. You know, for me, in any kind of conversation that's elicited a reactive response. You know, I can feel like muscles tighten. I can maybe feel my face do a certain thing.

Speaker B: Right, so you're noticing what's going on in your body.

Speaker C: Yeah. So I think I would just outline for our listeners that practicing awareness is. It means many different things. An example for me is things happen in my body.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker C: I feel it and notice it. So I don't know if you have any for me. For yourself.

Speaker B: I agree. I lean into like how my body feels. My cue is like right in the middle of my back. It's super tense.

Speaker C: Oh, interesting. Yeah.

Speaker B: Uh, I know that a lot of

Speaker C: the

Speaker B: identifying males out there that we've coached do not lean into body functions as much as women do. And that's just a natural effect, which is okay. Um, what I've heard from our counterparts is that it's more so around like sweaty palms or their hearts racing or it's like physiological.

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker B: A little in a different way, I guess is what I'm trying to say.

Speaker C: Yeah. More pronounced.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: And the other part I think that is often forgotten is asking your peers or your leaders, ensuring that you trust them to do so first, but asking for feedback. So in stressful situations, how am I really coming off?

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: And do my. Does my vision or my awareness match your awareness? That's a really strong way to practice it. Or you can practice it with a coach.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: Um, because they'll be able to help see those behavioral trends and reactions as well. Um, the other thing that comes up for me with regards to self awareness is reflection. And I know that that sounds fuzzy and warm, but it's soft. It's not though, because you're doing the hard work or the hard lift I would say, to build your self awareness muscle. So you really have to try to think. Think from a place of neutrality. How did people react to me? What were their words? What was their body language towards me? Um, did it, what did it feel like? So even that emotional identification is wrapped in there as well?

Speaker C: I think so. So what I'm hearing is that until you can be proactively or preemptively self aware, that taking the moments after. Mhm. A conversation, an interaction, whatever it may be to, to reflect.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: And bring out the self awareness if. If at the onset you're not feeling very self aware.

Speaker A: Correct.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: Cool.

Speaker B: And again, it takes practice.

Speaker C: Of course.

Speaker B: It's starting to think about it like from the perspective of if you are like me for example, and you live and die and breathe your calendar.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: Then it's just building in a quick buffer of five minutes between the meetings.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: So that you can think about those things in, in the efficient manner.

Speaker C: Mhm. Um.

Speaker B: Or maybe if you're someone that's uber intentional and Sundays are the day that you're prepping for the next week, then you know there's a trigger or something for you to prompt you to reflect upon a meeting and interaction, etc.

Speaker C: So this, the second one that you mentioned which was using physical cues. Again, this would come more after you've exercised the self awareness piece a bit. But once you can recognize that you, like you said, maybe your heart rate's elevated, maybe your palms are sweaty, maybe your jaws tight, maybe your shoulders are up by your ears. Um, then you know, do something to anchor your, your breath. So like plant your feet at your desk or like you said, maybe have a stress ball or maybe you have multiple cats like Ang. Or give those a pat. Um, so yeah. Some type of physical tool. Yeah. To help you.

Speaker B: Yeah. I'm glad you said give those a pat because I was picturing in my head, are people thinking that I'm just going to squeeze my cat?

Speaker C: No.

Speaker B: Um, so that's good.

Speaker C: That's loving. Yeah. So then the third one was creating time. So even saying let me get back to you in 10 minutes.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker C: Which I do only from how I take information and process it kind of way. So um, Ang knows that for me I'm a post processor. So we can really like go deep and have a big brainstorm and have a really productive time together. But I then need to go away and let that sink in for, you know, 24 to 48 hours. No, I'm fortunate, I think in the way that I process information that I am already in the habit of saying I need five to 10 minutes or two days, whatever it may be.

Speaker B: Absolutely.

Speaker C: Um, but for those that maybe don't have that practice, is there any way that you would suggest getting used to saying give me five or. Or is it just going to feel awkward?

Speaker B: It, it depends. Like uh. And the reason why I'm saying is it depends is because our culture at intuitive performance is built around integrity.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: Authenticity, openness, openness, candor, etc, and for us we really feel strongly. I knew anyways about walking the walk and talking the talk. So it's taking the temperature of the culture of the organization. Right, right. What was coming up for me when you were speaking is in certain organizations it may be um, beneficial to phrase it as a question versus a statement.

Speaker C: Okay.

Speaker B: Hey, totally hear what you're saying. Enjoy all this information. I have some preliminary thoughts. They're this. But I'm wondering if I can take, you know, 24, 48 hours or get back to on Monday. Whatever.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: Um, with regards to my full thoughts

Speaker C: while I really digest everything and I, and I guess too from a managerial perspective too is. Is offering that again, modeling it in a way. So do you need to take.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker C: We don't need a response right away. Do you need, you know.

Speaker B: Absolutely. And there's the opportunity for leaders to ask those preferences.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: And I think opportunity missed oftentimes is during onboarding.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker B: How do you process information? You know, how do you want to show up in meetings? Because some people don't like to talk but they want to contribute in their own way.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: So it's not forcing people in the quote unquote mold.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: But it is asking them to again, going back to the reps, be self aware enough and sharing the expectations that there is a safe space to talk about the same.

Speaker C: Mhm. Yeah. I would say it also

Speaker B: adds a

Speaker C: level of accountability there too because if you know, for some reason they're not their outputs or their contributions aren't as great as they're needed to be. Hey, let's go back. I noticed when we, when we started that you outlined XYZ is your preference to process information or take information in.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: Do we need to look at that again? Because it seems like, you know. Yeah, maybe it's taken you a couple days to get to the emails about X, Y and Z.

Speaker B: Absolutely.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: So it's really about. I think what I'm hearing you say is it's twofold.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: Instead of leaders reacting to something not being done or done the way that they expect it, it's coming in and asking more questions which leads into a totally Other topic, which I'm sure I think we'll cover.

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker B: Um, and there's also the accountability portion for the employee to identify their. Their learning style. Exactly. Or the way that they're processing things. So that there is a misconception or there isn't miscommunication.

Speaker C: Uh-huh.

Speaker B: Really comes down to that two way street. Totally coming full circle. The first step is that level of self awareness and understanding what you need and. Or your triggers.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker C: So moving from reacting to responding.

Speaker B: Correct.

Speaker C: Key step one, practice self awareness.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And what was step two?

Speaker C: It was the physical cues.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: We talked about that.

Speaker C: Yeah. And creating time.

Speaker B: What about, what about physical cues? From the perspective of. So if you're a leader.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: And you can see physical cues, I would suggest one on one, not in group meetings. And you can see the physical cues in your team members, but they don't see them.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker B: What, if anything, are we responsible for

Speaker A: again?

Speaker C: M. I think it's a similar thread to what we've talked about before on the podcast, which is creating a learning culture. If there's just a built in, uh, conversation or curiosity around how you're showing up, I think that's how you start.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker C: Um, I think there needs to be some type of communication or statement made if it hasn't been. So from the beginning that, hey, I'm going to be, I think outwardly focused on how we're showing up. Mhm. You're going to see me modeling some new strategies that I've learned or want to try on or think could help the team. So I think age is transparency.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker C: Um, about

Speaker B: practicing and your intention.

Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Transparency and intention. Just literally sharing it with. With your team. Yeah. Um, and then again, creating that ongoing dialogue about it.

Speaker B: And the story that I'm telling myself in my head right now is the ongoing dialogue could be something as simple as hey, Maria, I think I'm noticing this. It could be something totally different. Help me understand.

Speaker C: Exactly.

Speaker B: And you know that me asking you that question is taking a pause, a beat.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: It's taking the opportunity to flag.

Speaker C: Mhm.

Speaker B: Um, that we may be. I may be looking to help you regulate and you know, pull her up type thing. And it gives you an opportunity to be like, okay, let. I. I need to reflect on this and I'll get back to you. Yeah. Or immediately. Oh wait, I didn't realize I was doing that thing again. M. You don't necessarily have to apologize because that's not the point when it comes to a learning Culture, but rather, hey, okay, I see this or no, I don't. This is what I meant. Mhm.

Speaker C: Totally.

Speaker B: And again that comes back down to what you had mentioned, the transparency of practicing and what I'm hearing that the theme around this is going back to my original question is when it comes to the responsibility of a leader, it's a asking if that person wants to be coached one on one. Right. Or wants feedback.

Speaker C: Totally.

Speaker B: And then two, being able to do so in such a way that allows them to feel safe.

Speaker C: Absolutely. Yeah.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker C: An example that I can share, um, that hopefully we never move through again. But I worked with a team during the pandemic on completely new territory for everyone. Everyone.

Speaker B: Hr, looters, employees, the whole works.

Speaker C: Yeah. So this team was really struggling and one of their managers introduced a two word check in which I've shared before that I uh, it's a really simple but I think very impactful tool. And so again when you're introducing something like this, it, you know, a global pandemic doesn't need to be the catalyst. But I'm sharing that as a. There was a very pronounced shot shift in how people were showing up at work. You know, it was very tense, it was very emotional. Right. All of the things. So you know, this manager wanted to acknowledge but also tread lightly, just create space. So they just simply said like I just want to know when we have, you know, our meetings or our check ins, how, how we can proceed and take care of each other. And so it was just like, you know, you give me the two words of how you're, how you're showing up. So if it's tired and scared, I mhm. Know, maybe we're not going to tackle big hairy things today.

Speaker B: I don't.

Speaker C: Or if we do, we'll go gently and together.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker C: Um, so again it doesn't need to be at that level. Um, but that's just an example of when you're starting something new. That transparency piece.

Speaker B: Yeah, just. I think that's a perfect example actually.

Speaker C: I notice my people are needing some support or I'm noticing that I need to practice this new skill and just tell your people, just have a conversation. And that alone, certainly in, in that instance it allowed, you know, that whole team to go from reacting to responding. Hm. So yeah. Just setting the stage by simply openly communicating. Yes.

Speaker B: Agreed.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: Is there a third? I can't remember.

Speaker C: They're create time.

Speaker B: Okay. Which we. Yeah, uh, I think that wraps into it.

Speaker C: I think so. Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker B: For sure. So that's a wrap on our first Back to Basics episode, Reacting to Responding. In our next episode, we'll dig into the skill of moving from judgment to curiosity. This is one of my favorites.

Speaker C: Yeah, this series is about changing the way we think about leadership learning. It's not something we have to do, it's something we get to do because leadership lives in the human moments.

Speaker B: Thanks for joining us everyone. Don't forget to subscribe, share this episode with a colleague and keep practicing your reps. See you next time on the Human side of Business.

Speaker A: Thanks for listening to the Human side of Business podcast. I'm glad you could join us. If you enjoyed today's episode and want to stay updated with our latest content, make sure to visit our website. The link can be found in the episode description where you can subscribe to the podcast, Sign up for our newsletter and learn more about our Whole Person Leadership Services. Sounds interesting. Explore the Whole Person Leadership Cohort by Intuitive Performance, a ah unique program that offers unparalleled support to managers on every step of their leadership journey. Our program features evidence based assessments, workbooks, group coaching, and interactive learning experiences to help you level up your leadership skills. Reach out today to apply to one of our upcoming cohorts. Until next time, take care and stay curious. Thanks for listening to the Human side of Business podcast. I'm glad you could join us. If you enjoyed today's episode and want to stay updated with our latest content, make sure to visit our websites. The link can be found in the episode description where you can subscribe to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter and learn more about our Whole Person Leadership Services. Sounds interesting. Explore the Whole Person Leadership Cohort by Intuitive Performance, a unique program that offers unparalleled support to managers on every step of their leadership journey. Our program features evidence based assessments, workbooks, group coaching, and interactive learning experiences to help you level up your leadership skills. Reach out today to apply to one of our upcoming cohorts. Until next time, take care and stay curious.

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