In this episode of The Leaders Kitbag, I explore something that most leaders experience but rarely address: walking into a meeting still carrying the weight of the one before it.

Research on emotional contagion tells us that your team picks up on your state within seconds of you walking into a room. If you’re stressed, distracted, or mentally still in the last conversation, that transmits, and it affects everyone’s performance, not just yours.

The good news is that while you can’t always control what happens to you, you can control what you do in the moments before you show up for your people. I share two simple breathing techniques, and more importantly, a practical way to actually remember to use them.

Because knowing about a technique and building it into your day are two very different things.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why your emotional state spreads to your team faster than you realise
• What’s happening in your nervous system when you’re under pressure, and how to reverse it quickly
• One simple breathing technique you can use in under sixty seconds
• Why most people know about these techniques but don’t use them, and how to close that gap
• A straightforward habit to build so the reset becomes automatic

Ben’s Key Takeaways

States are contagious. The mood and energy you carry into a room will affect how everyone in it thinks, feels and performs. This isn’t just a leadership idea, it’s what the research on emotional contagion consistently tells us.

Deliberate breathing works… but only if you actually do it. Most leaders are aware of breathing techniques but forget to use them in the moment, because there’s no trigger.

Set three alarms on your phone - one at the start of your day, one at lunch, one at the end - labelled with a word that connects to the reset. When it goes off, take thirty seconds to breathe and reset.

This isn’t about building a meditation practice; it’s about building a habit of pausing before you show up for other people.

A final thought:

You can’t always choose what’s on your plate. But you can choose what you carry into the room.

Want to learn more about how to be a leader?

The expression of interest form is now open for the next cohort of my ‘Leader in Me’ programme.

If you’re ready to:

• Build confidence and capability as a leader
• Break free from firefighting and become more proactive
• Learn how to inspire your team and deliver results…

Learn more and register your interest here.