know your default - edition 20

Under real pressure, most of us don't choose how we respond. We default. And the higher the stakes, the more we reach for the one setting we trust most. This creates a blind spot and can be costly to us.

New research from Harvard Business Review (July–August 2026) puts a name to this. Jon Miller and Drew Keller, who founded the Center for Stress Intelligence, argue that executive stress is now higher than at the peak of the pandemic, and that most leaders operate with a single default under fire. They describe six: the calm lighthouse, the reinvention-minded alchemist, the action-driven firefighter, the disciplined stoic, the relationship-focused diplomat, and the control-driven container. Each has a strength. Each has a blind spot that pressure amplifies.

Their conclusion is the part worth really reflecting on. The advantage doesn't come from adopting one heroic style. It comes from widening your range and shifting deliberately as conditions change. Range beats grit.

Why this matters now

The neuroscience is catching up with the instinct. A major 2026 review in Neuron reframes the stress system as an active monitor of your environment, not a simple alarm, and resilience as a trainable capacity rather than the absence of pressure. The NeuroLeadership Institute (David Rock and colleagues, July 2026) goes further, arguing that wellbeing should be treated as the brain's finite capacity for attention, regulation and decision-making, not a perk bolted on the side. Protecting recovery becomes a performance lever, not an indulgence.

The discipline underneath it

This is the territory of the 10 Leadership Disciplines I work with. Awareness comes first for a reason: you cannot widen your range if you cannot name your default. Then Conscious Choice: recognising that even when circumstances are forced on you, your response is still chosen. Then Presence in the Moment: dealing with what is yours to deal with, right now.

I map this onto my High Performance Routine model (Prepare, Perform, Transition, Recover) and the 6 Critical Energetic Influencers framework. Most leaders I coach can perform. Fewer can transition and recover. And it is the missing warm-down, not the missing effort, that quietly narrows their range over time.

Last month I spent two days with young talent from the nuclear industry, working on what it takes to become an inspirational leader, as part of a programme run by First Ascent Group . The strongest ones weren't the loudest or the calmest. They were the ones who could read the room and change gear. They could challenge when challenge was needed, and be steady when it wasn't. That is range. It is learnable. It is not given to you at birth.

What now?

This week, catch yourself once under pressure and name your default. Then ask what the situation actually needs. Awareness? Choice? Range?

So, what's your default under fire, and which mode do you never reach for?

And if you are to be away on holiday enjoy your time. Have fun, relax and recover, knowing that's an important part of high performance.

If you'd like of discuss any of these points I'd be happy to have a chat. Please email me on mark@headsupandfreer.com to set up a call.

The research behind this:

1. HBR, "6 Ways Leaders Harness Stress" — Jon Miller & Drew Keller (Jul–Aug 2026)

2. Neuron, "Stress fitness: a neuroscientific approach to building emotional resilience" (2026)

3. NeuroLeadership Institute, 2026 Annual Trends — Rock, Sarro, Weller (well-being as capacity)

Leadership frameworks in focus that I use with clients:

(1) 10 Leadership Disciplines (2) High Performance Routine (3) Six Critical Energetic Influencers