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Pressure doesn’t create your character; it reveals your training. We dive deep into the four Fs—fight, flight, freeze, and fawn—and show how these hardwired trauma responses quietly shape decisions, meetings, and culture. Instead of shaming reflexes, we teach you how to recognize them in the moment and convert them into intentional leadership moves that build trust.
We share candid stories—from boardroom confrontations to tense staff moments—where a default response could have derailed the room. You’ll learn how to turn fight into principled assertiveness without theatrics, transform flight into a strategic step-away with clear follow-up, replace freeze with focused action commitments, and upgrade fawn from people-pleasing to empathy anchored in standards. Along the way, we connect the dots to early learning, post-COVID shifts in leadership, and the way modern media overload primes everyone for reactivity.
Grounding the conversation is CHART, our practical framework for selfless leadership. We walk through applying its subcategories in the heat of conflict, pairing them with a quick self-scan: Which instinct is firing, and what is the wise version needed here? That simple practice changes the tone of a team, because it models emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and consistency when stakes rise. We close with a challenge to “step outside your movie,” journal your patterns, and enlist a mentor who can spot your tells before they spill into the room.
If you’re ready to train your instincts instead of being trained by them, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a quick review with the one F you’re working to reframe. Your team deserves the strongest, calmest version of you—and you can build it, one deliberate response at a time.

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Chapters

1. Opening And Season Three Context (00:00:00)

2. Gratitude, Podcasting, And Origins (00:01:46)

3. The Chart Framework And Boardroom Lesson (00:03:28)

4. Leadership Trends And HBR Insights (00:06:18)

5. Introducing The Four Fs (00:08:12)

6. Defining Trauma Responses (00:10:36)

7. Media Overload And Modern Stress (00:13:58)

8. Why Four Fs Matter In Leadership (00:16:40)

9. Fight: Productive Assertiveness (00:19:20)

10. Flight: Avoidance Versus Wise Exit (00:22:58)

11. Break And Subscriber Message (00:24:44)

12. Freeze: Decision Paralysis (00:25:10)

13. Fawn: People-Pleasing Pitfalls (00:28:00)

14. Using Four Fs Intentionally (00:31:10)

15. Season Three Recap: CHART Applied (00:33:10)

16. Education, Application, Transformation (00:36:04)

17. The Leader’s Ongoing Journey (00:38:06)

18. Step Outside Your Movie (00:40:10)

19. Closing Thanks And Season Four Tease (00:42:20)

88 episodes