Steady Under Pressure

Cristina Stensvaag
Jan 20
2 min read

Updated: Apr 22

Leaders aren’t celebrated for never feeling pressure. They’re remembered for how they showed up when pressure was highest.

January 20, 2026

Originally published in One More Rep, a weekly newsletter for people managers who want to get better through practice. Subscribe here — it's free.

Over the past two weeks, we’ve focused on leadership identity and self-trust, including who you intend to be as a leader, and trusting yourself to embrace that identity.

This week is about what happens when pressure enters the room.

Read

Often, leadership breakdowns don’t happen because leaders don’t know what to do. They happen because emotions take over.

Stress rises, defensiveness kicks in, and communication breaks down.

Emotional regulation isn’t about suppressing emotion or staying calm at all costs. It’s about staying steady enough to respond instead of react.

There's a quote from Jefferson Fisher that I come back to often: "let your breath be the first word."

Leaders who can regulate under pressure, who can take a breath instead of reacting immediately, create clarity in moments where others escalate, avoid, or disengage. Not because they feel less, but because they’ve practiced noticing what’s happening internally before it spills outward.

Rep

This week’s rep is about creating a pause before you respond. Letting your breath be the first word.

If you find yourself in a situation this week where pressure is rising -- tension in a meeting, feedback that lands poorly, or a decision that gets challenged -- pause and ask yourself:

What am I feeling right now?
What does my leadership identity call for in this moment?
What response would serve the outcome?

Then respond deliberately, even if it means taking a moment, or five, before responding.

The pause is the rep.

Reflect

Ask yourself:

What situations most reliably trigger a reaction for me?
How do those reactions show up? Tone, body language, urgency, withdrawal?
What changed when I paused instead of reacting?

Regulation isn’t about being perfect. It’s about responding with intention instead of reacting in the moment.

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Cristina Stensvaag is co-founder of LeaderReps and creator of One More Rep, a weekly practice-based leadership newsletter for people managers.