When Emotions Feel Like the Enemy: The SLOW Method for Grounded Leadership

In this episode of The Leader’s Table Podcast, host Diana Murphy discusses how to navigate intense emotional moments—anger, anxiety, sadness—during leadership situations like team meetings, difficult conversations, or receiving bad news. Rather than judging or suppressing emotions, she frames them as a portal to wisdom, values, integrity, and truth, helping leaders stay grounded instead of reacting as a “hothead.” She introduces the SLOW tool to honor and engage emotions differently:

Stop and notice your breath

Linger to recover and let the emotion move

Stay Open and curious without judgment about what triggered you

Widen your perspective to reduce tunnel vision and access what you really want to do or say.

She emphasizes that nothing has gone wrong when emotions arise and promises that practicing SLOW leads to more aligned responses and deeper insight.