THE CRISIS READY INSTITUTE BLOG

The Unexpected Science Behind Crisis Leadership: Why Presence Outweighs Messaging

If you ask a leader what they need most during moments of significant change, they typically mention clear communication plans, decisive decision-making frameworks, or strategic stakeholder mapping.

Rarely does anyone mention their heart’s electromagnetic field.

Yet this invisible aspect of leadership might be the most crucial factor in whether people trust and follow you through change—or resist at every turn.

The Leadership Skill We’ve Never Been Taught

For decades, we’ve approached leadership primarily through cognitive frameworks. We’ve prioritized what leaders should say and do, while almost entirely ignoring what they should be.

This oversight isn’t just incomplete—it’s neurologically unsound.

The science is clear: When someone enters a state of fear (which change naturally triggers), their prefrontal cortex—the center for rational thinking and decision-making—becomes significantly less active. Logic and reason become much harder to access.

This is why perfectly rational explanations fall flat during times of high emotion. You’re speaking to a part of the brain that has temporarily reduced function.

The Heart’s Astonishing Influence

HeartMath Institute has spent decades documenting a fascinating phenomenon: The heart generates an electromagnetic field 60 times stronger than the brain’s electrical field and 5,000 times stronger than its magnetic field.

This field extends several feet beyond our bodies and carries emotional information that others unconsciously feel.

When you achieve heart-brain coherence—a state where your emotions, heart rhythms, and nervous system work in harmony—your electromagnetic field becomes more organized and powerful. This creates a measurable calming effect on others’ nervous systems.

Through a process called physiological entrainment, your coherent state helps bring others into regulation, allowing their prefrontal cortex to come back online so they can begin to process information, consider options outside of emotional reaction, and move forward productively.

Beyond Words: Leadership as Nervous System Regulation

Research with law enforcement has shown that officers trained in coherence techniques can recover from a highly stressful call within 15 minutes. Without this training, it takes 45 minutes or more. The same principle applies to leadership during change.

When you lead from coherence:

People feel safe with you before you speak a word
Trust forms more rapidly, even amid uncertainty
Others become receptive to your guidance because their nervous systems register you as “safe”
Your presence alone helps transform chaotic energy into clear, focused attention

The implications are profound: Your state of being during times of change may matter more than your communication plan.

From Theory to Practice

As a change leader, consider:

What daily practices build your coherence “fitness”?
How might you pause to center yourself before entering high-stakes situations?
What would change if you evaluated your leadership readiness not just by your plans and protocols, but by your ability to maintain coherence under pressure?

In our Crisis Ready® Certification, we teach leaders to develop this capacity—not as a spiritual nicety, but as a practical, science-backed leadership essential.

The future belongs to leaders who understand that leading through change isn’t just about what you do or say—it’s about who you become when it matters most and the capacity at which you learn how to resonate.

🎙️ Listen to this episode of “Leading Through Change“, where we go even deeper into this body of knowledge—both cognitively and experientially.

If this resonated with you, know this:

This is the work we do inside the Crisis Ready® Certification.

It’s where purpose-driven leaders develop the presence, self-awareness, and energetic fluency to lead through uncertainty—not by reacting faster, but by embodying something deeper.

If you’re ready to lead from vision rather than fear—this is your pathway. And our next certification cohort kicks off next month!

👉 Explore the Certification here: https://crisisreadycertification.com/

Melissa Agnes

Founder and CEO of the Crisis Ready Institute, Melissa Agnes is the author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, and a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection. Agnes is a coveted keynote speaker, commentator, and advisor to some of today’s leading organizations faced with the greatest risks. Learn more about Melissa and her work here.

Upcoming Crisis Ready Course:

Developing Your Crisis Communication Program

Join us, September 21st and 23rd, to take your crisis communication skills to the next level.

Take the first step towards your
Crisis Ready® Certification

Course: Mastering the Art of
Crisis Communication and Leadership

Our next cohort kicks off soon!

The Crisis Ready^® Coaching Program

The new ‘normal’ is both complex and here to stay. More than that, it offers opportunities into a new way of engagement.

The Crisis Ready^® Coaching Program provides professionals with access to leading experts, ongoing support, and best-practice strategies for confidently navigating the complexities of today’s ever-changing world. All while elevating your team’s skills and your brand’s overall resilience for the security you need into an even stronger tomorrow.

Click here to learn more.

Author

Melissa Agnes

Filed under: Transformational Leadership

Paul Damaren

Paul Damaren is the Global Director of Strategic Accounts for LRQA, a global Assurance Provider. Paul also holds the position of Chief Commercial Officer and Partner at StepUp Solution Services. Paul has worked as a Senior Executive in the Certification space for 10 years and has over 39 years’ experience in the Hospitality, Certification, Service, Retail agri-food and Technology sectors. Damaren is skilled in sales, marketing, certification, operations and software applications and he possesses an MBA from McGill University.

Mr. Damaren has worked with many companies across multiple sectors in supporting their food safety, supply chain, health & wellness, front & back of house operations, brand protection, quality, environmental, health & safety, GMP/GDP compliance, automotive, aerospace, medical, information security and technology requirements.

Paul was formerly a board member and Treasurer for the Ontario Food Protection Association (OFPA) and is a currently an Advisor & Council Member with The GW University School of Business and the Crisis Ready Institute.

Before working in the Certification industry, Damaren was a professional Chef/consultant for 20+ years working in major hotel chains, restaurants, private golf courses and food service organizations. Further, Damaren was a member of the National Canadian Federation of Chefs and Cooks (C.F.C.C.) for 14 years, member of the Region of Waterloo Culinary Association (R.W.C.A.) for 14 years, President of R.W.C.A. (Region of Waterloo Culinary Association) for 3 years, special Events chairman - R.W.C.A. – 1998 – 2000 and National Culinary Ambassador to Russia for 5 years.

Paul’s wealth of knowledge and experience across the span of our services supports his commitment to the ongoing success of our customers.

As Executive Vice President and Managing Director in the BCW Public Affairs and Crisis practice, Licy drives healthcare and social impact policy and strategy, and helps shape strategic direction on diversity, inclusion and belonging for the firm and its clients across North America, in public and corporate affairs, government relations, communications, crisis and reputation management. Licy also leads the BCW Healthcare Team in Washington, D.C.

An expert in public affairs, policy and diversity and inclusion, with over twenty five years of experience at the international, national, state and local levels across the nonprofit, philanthropic, corporate and government sectors, Licy is an accomplished, values-driven leader with unparalleled experience in developing and leading integrated public affairs campaigns combining strategic communications, public relations, political/legislative initiatives, policy, coalition building, grassroots efforts and advocacy.

Before joining BCW, Licy built and lead a nationally recognized minority owned strategic public affairs and communications firm, served as Health Practice Chair and Principal at The Raben Group, was the Chief Executive Officer of The AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth and Families, and managed and helped set the leadership direction for strategic policy, communications, and advocacy investments in executive and senior government affairs roles for the American Cancer Society and the nation’s Community Health Centers.

Before joining the private sector, Licy was domestic policy advisor to U.S. Congressman Barney Frank and served in several capacities in the Office of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. During his extensive tenure in Washington, D.C., Licy has played a leading role in efforts to draft, shape and enact legislation and policy to improve the public health, health care safety net and the lives, livelihoods and well-being of the nation’s disadvantaged and underserved communities.

Licy also has worked with Moet Hennessey to drive diversity and inclusion on Wall Street and corporate America. He has partnered with Vice President Al Gore, senior government officials, scientists, NGOs and activists, on global climate change impact and sustainability across Africa. And he was appointed by Republican and Democrat governors to oversee the conservation, preservation and management of a prominent U.S. national historic landmark.

Licy is a graduate of Duke University and holds a certificate in public health leadership in epidemic preparedness and management from the University of North Chapel Hill—School of Public Health and Kenan Flagler Business School, and is the recipient of multiple industry awards and citations for his leadership, policy and public affairs acumen, including being named to The Hill Newspaper list of most influential leaders in Washington, D.C. consecutively over the last ten years. As a global citizen, Licy has lived in Turkey and Spain, and is fluent in Spanish and Cape Verdean Portuguese.

Licy Do Canto

Licy Do Canto, is a veteran of public policy, corporate strategy, health care communications and diversity and inclusion, is managing director of APCO Worldwide’s Washington D.C. office headquarters and mid-Atlantic region lead. Licy is also a Global Advisory Council (GAC) member here at the Crisis Ready Institute and a highly recognized African-American public affairs, lobbyist and communications strategist— recognized by TheHill newspaper for the 11th consecutive year as one of the most influential leaders in Washington, DC.

Melissa Agnes

Recognized globally as an expert, thought leader and visionary in the field of crisis communication, Melissa Agnes has worked with global players, including NATO, the Pentagon (DoD), Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, financial firms, technology companies, healthcare organizations, cities and municipalities, law enforcement agencies, aviation organizations, global non-profits, and many others.

In 2020, Melissa founded Crisis Ready Institute, a public benefit corporation dedicated to teaching advanced crisis communication skills.

She's currently passionate about providing dedicated support to crisis communication consultants. Through her programs, she’s focused on helping them strengthen their crisis communication skills and credibility in the market, and supporting them in growing and scaling their business. The work they do is important and she's passionate about helping them amplify the positive impact they have in the world.

Her book, Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, is taught in dozens of universities around the world, including at Harvard University; is ranked amongst the leading crisis management books of all time, by Book Authority; and was named one of the top ten business books of 2018 by Forbes.

Melissa is the creator of the Crisis Ready® Model, which is recognized and being taught as leading industry best practice in the fields of crisis management and crisis communication.

As an in-demand international keynote speaker and a TEDx alumna, Melissa has traveled the world helping organizations and leaders further strengthen their crisis ready mindset, skills and capabilities.

In 2019, Melissa founded the Crisis Ready® Community, a space for professionals to come together to support one another, collaborate and strengthen their crisis ready skills.

Melissa sits on the Board of Directors for ZeroNow, a non-profit committed to ending harmful events in schools.

She also sat on the Board of Trustees for D'Youville University for four years until the end of her term, where she also serves as a visiting scholar for the course she co-created and co-teaches on Crisis Leadership.

Passionate about serving law enforcement and bridging the trust divide between agencies and the communities they serve, Melissa is a former member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). In 2021 she co-chaired a committee tasked with developing a strategy and plan of action to begin resolving the trust crisis in the U.S.

In 2019 and 2020, Melissa sat on the panel tasked with developing the International Standard for Crisis Management— ISO 22361, Guidelines for developing a strategic capability.

Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Melissa currently lives in New York City and enjoys weight-lifting, sailing, and exploring new cities, countries, and cultures.

The Unexpected Science Behind Crisis Leadership: Why Presence Outweighs Messaging