Insights brought to you by our member Laurent Tari, Founder, Executive Coach & Consultant, Bolster Consulting

In today’s volatile business landscape, leaders are being tested not only on their strategic skills, but on their ability to think clearly, make decisions under pressure, and inspire calm in the storm. The recent tariffs escalations are yet another illustration of how uncertainty has now become a feature, not a bug. Many leaders find themselves leading in what feels like a state of permanent crisis4where the pace is unrelenting, the stakes are high, and clarity is hard to come by.

Understanding how our brains work under stress is the first step to becoming more effective in these moments. When under pressure, our brains often default to what psychologists call reactive thinking. This is the domain of what organizational psychologist Chris Argyris described as “Model 1 thinking” – a mental model shaped by defensiveness, unilateral control, and a focus on being right rather than being effective.

Reactive Thinking: The Fight/Flight/Freeze Trap

When the brain perceives threat – whether physical, reputational, or relational4the amygdala kicks in. This triggers a survival response: fight, flight, or freeze. While helpful in immediate danger, this response can undermine good leadership. It narrows our field of vision, encourages binary thinking (“this will work or it won’t”), and leads to risk aversion. Cognitive biases such as negativity bias (giving more weight to negative information) and confirmation bias (giving more weight to information that confirms our existing beliefs) become amplified, distorting judgment and clouding decision-making.

In this state, we often:

. Overreact or shut down emotionally
. Avoid conflict or tough conversations
. Default to old ways of doing things (“legacy logic”)
. Delay decisions while waiting for certainty

Adaptive Thinking: Shifting into Model 2

To lead effectively in chaos, leaders must cultivate adaptive thinking. This is the territory of Argyris’ Model 2 thinking – characterized by open inquiry, shared control, and learning. Adaptive thinking requires accessing the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s center for rationality, planning, and empathy.

A key ingredient of adaptive thinking is metacognition: the ability to notice your own thinking. Leaders who can pause, observe their reactions, and shift perspective are better equipped to:

. Separate facts from interpretations
. Engage with multiple perspectives
. Reframe problems and explore options
. Make decisions with incomplete information

This aligns with the work of Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey, developmental psychologists and authors of Immunity to Change, who describe the shift from being “subject to” our assumptions to making those assumptions “object” –  something we can observe, question, and update. In their words, growth comes when we “get off the dance floor and onto the balcony.”

From Reactive to Adaptive Thinking

Reactive Thinking
. Fight / Flight / Freeze
. Binary choices
. Risk avoidance
. Legacy logic
. Certainty-seeking
. Model 1 (Argyris)
. Amygdala-driven

Adaptive Thinking
. Pause & Respond
. Multi-perspective view
. Risk awareness
. Creative reframing
. Decision in ambiguity
. Model 2 (Argyris)
. Prefrontal cortex

Practical Tools for Thinking Clearly

To support adaptive leadership, leaders should consider the following practices:

1. Name Your Default Pattern: Under pressure, do you tend to take over, withdraw, micromanage, or defer? Awareness is the first step to changing the pattern.

2. Practice the Pause: A moment of reflection can prevent hours of damage. Ask: What story am I telling myself? What else might be true?

3. Build Psychological Safety: Create space for others to share divergent views without fear. This reduces blind spots and improves group decisions.

4. Challenge Certainty: If everything seems clear, you may be missing something. Encourage curiosity and seek disconfirming data.

5. Train Cognitive Agility: Practice switching between intuitive (fast) and analytical (slow) thinking. As Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, author of Thinking, Fast and Slow, describes, we need both System 1 (fast, intuitive) and System 2 (slow, deliberate) thinking – but not at the same time.

The Role of Executive Coaching

In these high-stakes environments, executive coaching provides a crucial support structure. Coaches offer a reflective space to:
. Slow down reactive patterns
. Develop metacognitive awareness
. Challenge unexamined assumptions
. Practice new responses in complex, interpersonal situations

Coaching helps leaders see themselves and their environment more clearly, so they can lead with both conviction and flexibility. As the pace of change accelerates, these capacities aren’t just nice to have – they’re essential.

In chaos, your mindset is your most strategic asset. Train it well

– Laurent Tari, Founder, Executive Coach & Consultant, Bolster Consulting

About Bolster Consulting LLC (www.bolster-consulting.com)

As an executive coaching firm, we partner with executives, founders, directors, and managers to elevate leadership capabilities and team performance in fast-paced, complex environments. We support clients in developing strategic vision, strengthening emotional intelligence, refining leadership presence, and navigating key transitions such as stepping into new roles or shifting from technical to strategic leadership. Our systemic coaching approach considers individuals, teams, and organizations as interconnected systems4helping clients decode hidden dynamics, align with stakeholders, and lead with greater clarity and impact.

Founded and led by Laurent Tari, an ICF-certified executive coach with over 20 years of leadership experience across industries including corporate M&A (CMS, Freshfields), public sector (EDF, CDC), and tech (Amazon, AWS, PayFit), Bolster Consulting blends deep business acumen with executive coaching expertise. We offer holistic coaching solutions4ranging from one-on-one executive coaching to multi-month team development journeys designed to build trust, foster agility, improve governance, and drive innovation. Our mission: equip leaders with the mindset, tools, and structure to thrive in complexity and lead with confidence.

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