“In a crisis, leaders must continuously process large amounts of complex information, contradictory views, and strong emotions. This requires awareness of what happens in the outside world (facts on the ground) and in the inside world (body and mind),” according to McKinsey. Regulating external and internal signals is at the heart of integrative awareness.
Integrative awareness is the practice of balancing the external and internal signals that influence our reactions. External signals include all the information we receive from the outside world. Internal signals can be more subtle, ranging from emotions to “gut feelings” and intuition.
To be in touch with emotions of both the leader him/herself and those s/he leads, leaders can unlock integrative awareness through “self-leadership”. The concept combines the head, heart, and soul to reach deeper understanding and stronger connections with others. Build this mind/body connection through interoception.
The term interoception refers broadly to the ways the body collects information about its internal state. But it goes beyond physical reactions to include psychological state, memory, and decision making. Cultivating mindfulness is an excellent way to strengthen the mind/body connection.
Once leaders are attuned to both internal and external signals, they can practice integrative awareness in their working lives. “Beforehand, we can visualize the expected external event and our potential internal response. After the event, we can reflect and process the experience, let go of stress, and gain insight. In the moment, we can observe ourselves while having the experience and regulate our behavior at the same time,” as one author puts it.
Leaders must make a conscious choice to maintain their composure when the stakes and stress levels are high. Through integrative awareness, leaders can learn to remain composed and act with deliberate calm.
“’Deliberate’ refers to the awareness that you have a choice in how you experience and respond to a situation. ‘Calm’ refers to rationally considering how best to respond, without being governed by old habits,” according to the Harvard Business Review.
The challenge is that when circumstances call for bold new directions most urgently, we are most likely to seek the comfort of old habits. But we can regulate our emotions to avoid impulsive, knee-jerk reactions. Here are three steps to help make better decisions through emotional regulation:
Name the emotion: Name the emotions that arise from your internal and external signals. Naming emotions helps your conscious mind overcome irrational fear and anxiety.
Give yourself time: Avoid being caught up in the emotions of the moment. A brief pause to collect your thoughts and take a few deep breaths can make a big difference in your response to a crisis.
Practice reappraisal. Changing how we interpret an event is known as reappraisal. Instead of a threat, we can choose to view the event as a challenge or an opportunity to be bold and creative.
A final tool for leading through a crisis is bounded optimism (vs. unbounded optimism). It requires leaders both to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and to project confidence in ultimate success.
Leaders who project excessive optimism or offer simple solutions to complex problems can lose the confidence of their team members. As one author states, “It is essential to project confidence that the organization will find its way through the crisis but also show that you recognize its severity.”
Optimism that springs from intrinsic motivation has the power to energize team efforts. Leaders can set the tone by displaying emotional intelligence and reminding the team of the purpose driving their efforts. When leaders and teams are aligned in vision and purpose, they can overcome even the biggest challenges.
In times of crisis or disruption, leaders must learn to separate external and internal signals and regulate their responses. Since people tend to look to their leaders for stability and safety, more than just direction, leaders’ emotional responses can have an outsized impact on the team.
The goal of integrative awareness is to learn to receive external signals while, at the same time, observing our internal reactions. Deliberate calm, bounded optimism, self awareness, and other tools can help leaders provide stability, direction, and a sense of purpose in every situation.
If you would like to learn about integrative awareness and TEP’s expertise in developing leadership skills, please contact us.
Copyright © ️ 2025 by Dr. Vic Porak de Varna. All rights reserved.
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