How can you effectively manage stress and stay composed in high-pressure situations? In this episode, Dr. Susan Bernstein dives into the power of somatic leadership, offering insights on how you can use body signals to transform your responses to time pressures and unexpected changes. Drawing from her extensive experience working with top companies like Cisco and Google, Susan shares practical techniques that foster self-awareness, reduce stress, and enable you to create a sense of calm in chaotic environments.

By learning to tune into your body’s signals, you can improve decision-making and enhance team dynamics. Susan discusses six common nervous system response patterns—fight, flight, freeze, fawn, fade, and fix—and shows how leaders can shift from a reactive, “fight” mode into a more grounded, mindful approach. This shift not only alleviates stress but also boosts resilience and fosters a healthier workplace culture.

Susan is the CEO of a boutique consulting firm called Powerful Under Pressure. As the name implies, she helps leaders and teams at companies like Cisco, Google, and Uber excel under the most demanding conditions.

Susan combines her past experiences in leadership roles at Intel and Accenture with an MBA from UC Berkeley and a PhD in Somatic Psychology in her work with clients. Susan developed the Powerful Under Pressure framework to help organizations strengthen operational capacity by increasing the resilience and clarity of the people leading them. This emphasis equips teams to navigate complexity with sound judgment and sustained performance.

You’ll discover:

• The concept of “somatic smarts” and how small shifts in body awareness can lead to greater leadership effectiveness
• The six nervous system response patterns and how they impact your decisions
• Simple somatic techniques you can use to enhance self-awareness and relaxation
• How self-awareness can help you navigate high-pressure situations with calmness and clarity
• Strategies for supporting your team in managing stress and building resilience

Watch the episode:

Connect with Dr. Susan Bernstein

Dr. Susan Bernstein’s Website

Powerful Under Pressure

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As humans, we’re hardwired to resist change and seek certainty. But that leaves us ill-equipped to thrive in our rapidly changing world. Adam Markel has studied and researched resilience throughout his career. In this conversation, you’ll learn how to become “change-proof,” the title of his latest book, Change Proof: Leveraging the Power of Uncertainty to Build Long-Term Resilience.

This beautifully written book has compelling stories that will grab your attention from the very first page. Listen to the wisdom Adam shares in this one-hour interview, and then get a copy of his book so you can explore this powerful treatment of resilience further.

Adam is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and workplace expert. He’s also the CEO of More Love Media and host of The Change Proof podcast. He’s a sought-after business culture catalyst who inspires, empowers, and guides organizations and individuals to create sustainable, high-performance strategies.

You’ll discover:

• How Adam’s 7 years of experience as a beach lifeguard shaped the principles he teaches today
• The three essential steps to take before responding to something unexpected
• What Adam’s resilience assessment reveals about your resilience in four areas of life
• Why taking time for Recovery is important before it becomes critical
• How to dispute irrational beliefs

Watch the episode:

Connect with Adam

Adam’s Resources

Websites

Adam Markel

WorkWell

Resilience Assessment (free)

Books

Change Proof: Leveraging the Power of Uncertainty to Build Long-Term Resilience

Pivot: The Art and Science of Reinventing Your Career and Life

Do your beliefs about what’s possible for you ever hold you back? If so, my interview with Dr. Lisa Walker is a must-listen. You’ll love hearing her passion and stories as she describes her own breakthroughs and the ways she helps clients with theirs. Lisa is a Psychologist and Leadership Development Expert as well as an ICF Master Certified Coach, and a Columbia University Certified Executive Coach. She’s also an advanced level Mediator and Facilitator, helping leaders navigate crucial conversations.

Lisa has worked on large-scale leadership initiatives for clients in over 30 countries. She has a knack for coaching executives to achieve positive, measurable change in their leadership behaviors while delivering on business results and nurturing and growing their people. Her clients include Dell, Amazon, Target and IBM.

You’ll discover:

• How Lisa applies her background as a psychologist to coaching leaders
• The top challenges leaders are facing right now…and what Lisa says and does to help them achieve breakthroughs
• Success stories of clients who’ve abandoned their limiting beliefs to embrace their true potential
• The life-altering lessons Lisa learned when she successfully reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa

Watch the episode:

Connect with Lisa

Lisa’s Website

Dr. Lisa Walker

Lisa’s Upcoming Book (late 2021)

Leading Beyond Your Limits: Critical Leadership Tools for Resilience & Innovation in the Era of Relentless Change

Have you thought of resilience as the ability to “bounce back” from adversity? My guest Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal provides a much more powerful definition with three elements that allow you to emerge from any challenge enhanced and actually bounce forward. Have pen and paper handy because you’ll want to capture the important insights and practical tips Dr. Taryn Marie shares for developing resilience. She founded Resilience Leadership, where she serves as the Chief Resilience Officer (CRO), leveraging over a decade of research on resilience that gave birth to the empirically-based framework she uses with clients today. She’s a foremost international expert on this topic and is the former Head of Executive Leadership Development at Nike and Global Leadership Development at Cigna.

You’ll discover:

• Why resiliency is not “bouncing back”
• A definition that encourages you to flourish, no matter what adversity you face
• The research that led to Dr. Taryn Marie’s evidence-based model
• The 5 core practices that resilient people engage in regularly
• 3 Quick Wins for building resilience

Watch the episode:

Connect with Dr. Taryn Marie

Dr. Taryn Marie’s Website

Resilience Leadership