Stress Management and Emotional Resilience:
What Neuroscience Can Teach Us About Staying Calm Under Pressure
Have you ever locked yourself out of your house at midnight in the middle of winter, with your passport sitting inside and an early flight looming? Hopefully not. But if you have, you’ll relate to neuroscientist Daniel Levitin’s story in his TED Talk, How to Stay Calm When You Know You’ll Be Stressed.
And if you haven’t? You’ve still been there in your own way. Stress hits all of us. It clouds our thinking, shortens our patience, and can send even the most capable professional into panic mode.
As a stress management coach, I see this play out in boardrooms, small business offices, and in leadership spaces around the country. Whether it’s a crisis at work, a tight deadline, or a tough conversation you’ve been putting off, stress messes with your brain in predictable ways. And that’s exactly why we need to manage it proactively, not just react when it shows up.
I help leaders and workplaces build emotional resilience so they don’t end up metaphorically smashing their own windows just to get through the day.
Cortisol: The Brain Fog Culprit
Levitin reminds us that stress triggers cortisol, which hijacks clear thinking. You feel rushed, foggy, and prone to mistakes, not because you’re careless, but because your brain is doing what it’s wired to do under pressure. It’s prioritising survival, not sound decision-making.
This is where emotional resilience is important. In my work, I help professional people recognise these physiological responses before they spiral. We practise tools that create a mental buffer, so that when stress shows up (and it will), you’re ready. You’re not scrambling for solutions; you’re stepping into a plan you’ve rehearsed.
The Power of the Pre-Mortem
Levitin introduces a brilliant concept called the pre-mortem, borrowed from behavioural science: rather than waiting for things to go wrong and then dissecting the damage (post-mortem), we imagine the worst-case scenario beforehand and plan for it.
This what I help business leaders do every day.
When I work with executives and teams, we use pre-mortem thinking to plan for stress points. Whether it’s staff changes, business growth, conflict, deadlines, client curveballs.
We ask:
“If this goes wrong, how will we respond?”
“What’s the emotional load we need to prepare for?”
It’s not about being negative, it’s about being ready.
I recently worked with a regional leader struggling with major operational changes. Using this approach, we mapped the likely stress triggers and developed realistic responses. They achieved stronger team connection and far less reactivity when things got tough. They were able to assert themselves, set clear boundaries and troubleshoot effectively.
Systemise Your Calm
One of Levitin’s practical takeaways is simple: put systems in place before the stress hits. Designate a spot for your passport, take photos of important documents, install a backup key box.
It’s not groundbreaking but it does work. I like to think of it as ‘booby-trapping’ your brain.
The same logic applies to stress management in the workplace. When I support organisations, we identify the stress-prone areas and create emotional safety systems. This is a risk mitigation process for Psychological Safety in the workplace.
Systems include:
- Clear communication protocols
- Regular check-ins that go beyond the task list
- Accountability without blame
- Personal check-ins embracing vulnerability and real life situations
- Resilience routines that fit the actual workday, not some ideal version of it
It’s about making calm part of the culture, not just something you hope for.
Emotional Resilience is Trainable
One of the myths I regularly bust is the idea that some people are just naturally cool under pressure and others aren’t. Emotional resilience isn’t a trait. it’s a skill. It can be taught, practised, and improved.
I coach people to:
- Recognise their early stress signals and triggers
- Regulate emotional responses by developing the EQ
- Respond thoughtfully instead of reacting impulsively
- Stay present in hard conversations
- Recover quickly after setbacks
These aren’t abstract ideas, they’re simple hacks to remember in the moment. And they make all the difference when the unexpected hits.
One business owner I worked with told me, “Before, I used to panic when things went off track. Now, I still feel it but I don’t spin into a stress storm of panic. I pause, think, and choose my next step.”
That’s the goal. Not to eliminate stress entirely (good luck with that), but to build the emotional scaffolding to handle it well. I’m no superhero when it comes to this either. It’s something I struggle with personally, so I am always looking for mor tools and strategies to help others too.
Stress is part of the deal. Whether you’re leading a business, managing a team, or juggling a hundred roles in a day, pressure comes with the territory. But you don’t have to let cortisol take over.
By learning from neuroscience, applying the pre-mortem method, and embedding practical habits, you can build a workplace (and a brain) that stays calm under pressure.
That’s what I do for myself and others. I help leaders and teams train their minds to remember things in the moment. That way they can show up clear-headed, emotionally steady, and ready for whatever the day throws at them.
And if all else fails, don’t smash your own windows. Just give me a call.
✅ Do
- Use a pre-mortem approach: Plan ahead for what could go wrong and put practical systems in place to reduce the fallout.
- Create routines and systems: Designate spots for commonly lost items, especially when under pressure.
- Train your brain: Acknowledge that under stress, clear thinking goes out the window. Prep yourself before the panic hits.
- Support emotional resilience: Help your team develop strategies to regulate emotion and recover from setbacks.
- Have tough conversations early: Encourage informed decision-making in high-pressure moments by building in reflection time before the stress hits.
- Lead with empathy and clarity: Especially in stressful workplaces, good leaders make space for calm thinking and open communication.
🚫 Don’t
- Rely on willpower in the moment: Stress hormones like cortisol will cloud your judgement when you need it most.
- Assume people will just cope: Emotional resilience is a skill set, not a personality trait. It needs to be built.
- Leave critical thinking to chance: Without systems or mental rehearsal, people default to fight, flight or freeze.
- Ignore workplace stress: It’s not a badge of honour. Chronic stress drains performance, morale and decision-making.
- Make big decisions while overwhelmed: You’ll likely miss important details or regret your choices.
- Wait for things to break: Whether it’s windows, teams or trust, prevention is always cheaper than repair.
Check out our upcoming free MASTERCLASSES that focus on how to Feel Good at Work, how to work Better Together, Talk Smart (communication techniques), Mission Control (leadership techniques), Essential Human Skills, and how to Tame Your Time.
If you want to improve your behavioural skills and master the human side of work, book your free strategy session here.
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