ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Most leaders treat fear as the thing blocking them. Amy Elizabeth Fox, CEO of Mobius Executive Leadership and Nicholas Janni, both co-authors of Leading in Chaos, argue the opposite: you block fear, and that blocking is quietly costing you presence, judgment, and your team's best thinking.
Along with host Ashish Kothari, you'll discover why emotional intelligence in leadership starts in the body, the practices that ground you when everything is unpredictable, and why the times are urgent enough that we must slow down. For leaders and executives who are done white-knuckling through chaos and ready to lead from somewhere deeper.
What You Will Learn:
1. Fear isn't the block. You are. "Fear doesn't block me. The problem is I block fear." Let the wave move through you before the hard conversation. What's on the other side is presence, not paralysis.
2. Get in your body before you decide. Soften the out-breath. Feel your feet, feel your chair. Thirty seconds changes your brainwave state, and you can do it mid-meeting. You can't steady a room you haven't steadied yourself in.
3. Stop performing certainty. The picture is too big for one mind. Sit with your team in "we don't know," listen until other views actually land, and watch the periphery for early signals instead of rushing to fix.
4. Slow down because the times are urgent. When you're moving fast in ten directions, you're busy but not effective. Block out time that's unplugged and unscheduled. One well-aimed move beats a dozen rushed ones.
5. Don't shrink, don't inflate. Humility isn't making yourself small. It's owning what you're actually good at while letting go of the need to control how things turn out. Try saying: "I don't know, but together we can figure it out."
Episode Chapters:
- 02:58 Healing inherited trauma is part of leadership.
- 07:27 - Sense-making must go beyond intellect.
- 12:19 - Practical ways to become more grounded.
- 18:08 - Opening the heart strengthens teams.
- 21:23 - Emotions are meant to be felt, not suppressed.
- 31:51 - Spaciousness is a leadership discipline.
- 39:01 - Humility means occupying the right space.
- 43:29 - Intuition and “field intelligence” emerge through presence.
- 49:17 - Collective healing needs both justice and inner development.
Resources:
Connect with the Guest
LinkedIn: Amy Elizabeth Fox
LinkedIn: Nicholas Janni
Recommended Reading:
Connect with the Host
LinkedIn: Ashish Kothari
Website: Happiness Squad
Book: Hardwired For Happiness
YouTube: Happiness Squad Channel
TEDx: How to make flourishing your competitive edge
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