how do I stay stable when things get hard? emotional regulation, pillar one of integrated wisdom. one film today, then nothing else on screen: the afternoon is exercise, not film. neha closes the day with leading with strengths: a working session on what you're strong at, witnessed by the room.
Vishakha R Mmentor · leadership essentials · with Neha
today's arc · day 2 · 10:00 to 4:30 target, 5:00 buffer
four sessions
10:00 to 11:35inside out 2: the mechanism of emotional hijack
11:50 to 1:20lab 2 · the somatic pause
2:20 to 3:20energy management, applied
3:30 to 4:50leading with strengths & the anchor, committed
session 1 · 10:00 to 11:35
inside out 2: the mechanism of emotional hijack
film setup · question on screen
when a single emotion seizes the console completely, what happens to everyone else at the controls, and to the person underneath?
hold it before you play anything · no commentary during · let it land in full
1what happened at the console?the moment anxiety took over, what actually happened at the controls?
2where was joy?what happened to her? did she try to get back in?
3has this happened to you?not "upset". actually locked out of your own controls, from the inside.
that's the mechanism. not a character flaw. a takeover.
concept · where thoughts come from
where thoughts come from
how beliefs formbuilt over years of repeated experience. but a single flooded, high-stakes moment can override a settled belief about yourself almost instantly.
where the emotion comes fromoften a thought you never consciously registered: a back-of-the-mind thought shaping your self-belief before your conscious mind catches up.
not every thought is chosensome are conditioned responses, built from repetition. some sit below awareness entirely, laid down by upbringing and culture, long before this room.
the leadership question isn't "why did I feel that". it's "whose voice was that thought actually in, and did I choose it?"
formally named
thoughts, emotions, actions
lab 1 gave you this raw, before it had a name. anxiety's takeover just demonstrated it live, in fiction. in pairs: trace one recent reaction of your own back through its actual thought.
session 2 · 11:50 to 1:20
lab 2: the somatic pause
concept · the somatic connection
somatic markers: antonio damasio
your body registers a threat or a trigger before your conscious mind has put a name to it. that gap, between the body knowing and the mind catching up, is exactly what this lab is built to catch.
let's catch that gap live, in front of the room.
lab 2 · full group
the somatic pause
1 · two volunteersthe sceneone plays a manager delivering a tough performance review. one plays a defensive employee.
2 · facilitator calls "pause"mid-sceneat a moment of visible tension, not a neutral beat.
3 · two questionscaught mid-sentencewhat is happening in your body right now? what were you about to say?
run it three times minimum, rotating who is caught mid-sentence.
debrief · what the body knew first
what the body knew first
1column one vs. column twowhat the body was already doing, against what you were about to say. walk the gap, scene by scene.
2where did the body know first?where did this morning's conditioned reaction nearly win?
"this is your nervous system's data. the anchor is what you do with it in the ten seconds after you notice it."
anchor · part 1 of 3
name your anchor
individual, silent write. given what you just watched your body do: the one specific move you'll make next time you notice that signal. a breath. a phrase. a shift in posture. be concrete.
keep this. you'll rehearse this exact anchor out loud this afternoon, and commit to it in writing at the end of the day.
5:00silent write · click or T
session 3 · 2:20 to 3:20
energy management, applied
concept
energy management as a leadership discipline
the power of full engagement, loehr & schwartz. regulation isn't a single act, it's a sustained discipline. your body, your mind, your emotions and your sense of purpose all need managed recovery. not just willpower.
let's map your own week against this, with a partner.
lab 2b · pairs
the energy audit · four dimensions
physicalsleep, movement, food, physical recovery.
emotionalconnection, boundaries, feeling states.
mentalfocus, attention, deliberate switching-off.
spiritualsense of purpose and alignment with values.
anchor · part 2 of 3
anchor rehearsal
map your weekone drain, one recoveryone recurring drain, one realistic recovery practice. partner interview.
rehearse out loudthe first ten secondsdescribe a real upcoming pressure moment to your partner. using the anchor you named this morning, rehearse exactly what you'll do in your body.
the same anchor you named this morning. we're not starting something new, we're building the same muscle.
session 4 · 3:30 to 4:50 · neha leads
leading with strengths & the anchor, committed
cliftonstrengths® workshop · confidential
leading with strengths
discover · develop · deploy your strengths. workshop inspired by gallup methodology.
on the back of your list of five: the strength, and one task or goal where you will use it in the next 15 days. the next fifteen days, not the year.
not a strength you wish you had. the one the group saw is the one with evidence behind it.
be brave · be bold · be humble · be kind
anchor · part 3 of 3
the anchor, committed
quick check-indoes it still hold?now that you've heard a real story of staying steady under real stakes: adjust it if you need to.
write it down, finalin your handbookthe specific thing you will do in your body in the first ten seconds of your next real pressure moment.
you named it this morning, you rehearsed it at three o'clock. this is just making it official.
day 2 synthesis · 16:45
one thread, all day
the mechanism, the somatic signal, the energy discipline, your strengths mirrored back by the room. and now your own anchor: named, rehearsed and committed.
reflections zone · in your handbook, private
before you go
one moment today where I noticed my own emotional hijack in real time.
one thought I recognised as conditioned rather than chosen.
tomorrow we build the lens: objectivity, with moneyball. no homework film this week.
the school of future
