#398 Navigation

Emotional agility differentiates effective leaders by allowing them to acknowledge feelings without being controlled by them. The ability to pause between emotion and reaction creates leadership steadiness that builds trust and provides stability during challenging situations.

• Emotional agility defined as feeling everything but not being ruled by anything
• Leaders who lose control can spend months rebuilding broken trust
• The pilot analogy: skilled pilots feel turbulence but make measured adjustments
• Susan David's perspective: "emotional agility is about loosening up, calming down and living with more intention"
• The critical importance of the pause between feeling and responding
• Steady leaders earn trust by modeling composure during challenges
• Growth challenge: next time you feel turbulence, name your feelings then decide how to lead anyway

Visit growthinstigatorscom to connect for personal coaching or team speaking engagements.

Chapters

• 0:00 Leadership Emotions Gone Wrong
• 0:13 Growth Instigators Introduction
• 0:33 Emotional Agility Defined
• 0:52 The Pilot Analogy
• 1:13 Growth Challenge
• 2:15 Final Leadership Question

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Have you ever seen a leader lose their cool in a meeting and then spend months repairing the trust they broke in 30 seconds? Yeah, that's what happens when emotions run the show instead of you. Welcome to message 398 of the Growth Instigators Hotline, where we ignite your personal and professional development. I'm Aaron Havens, your host and growth coach.

Speaker 1: 0:23

Winning Leadership Wednesday the power of emotional agility in leadership. So here's the one big idea I want to land today. Emotional agility is the leader's ability to feel everything but not be ruled by anything. That's it, not suppression, not surrender by anything. That's it, not suppression, not surrender. Navigation is what we are talking about today.

Speaker 1: 0:50

My friends, think of a pilot hitting turbulence. If they yank the controls every time the plane shakes, they make the ride worse. If they ignore it completely, disaster follows the best pilots. Yeah, they feel the turbulence, they adjust with intention and they keep flying the plane. Leadership is the same.

Speaker 1: 1:09

Pressure, conflict and change will jolt you. It's unavoidable. But agility is the pause that lets you notice what you feel, choose how you respond and lead on purpose instead of on impulse. Harvard psychologist, susan David, put it like this emotional agility is about loosening up, calming down and living with more intention. That's so good. Leaders who master this don't just survive storms. They earn trust because their steadiness gives everyone else permission to steady themselves. So here is your growth challenge for today the next time you feel the turbulence, don't suppress it, don't snap with it. Pause. Name what you're feeling, then decide how you'll lead anyways, hey, I'm here for you. Visit growthinstigatorscom and let me know how I can help you or your team grow. That's right, I'll meet with you. I'll come speak at your next team meeting, whatever it may be, but I love leadership and I love pouring into other leaders. Here's the question for you when do you need more emotional agility? To lead with clarity instead of reactivity? And, as always, keep instigating growth in all you do.