Do you know those moments?

when your heart feels heavy, your body tense,

And something inside you aches or feels afraid…

But on the outside, you keep going.

You show up. Lead. Function.

As if there’s no space for what’s happening within.

These days, it’s even more complex.

Because we are living within a gap.

On one hand, there’s a sense of “returning to normal.”

Post-war, a ceasefire, an attempt to breathe again.

But beneath the surface, there is restlessness. There is alertness.

And on the other hand, the world doesn’t stop.

There are employees, clients, and expectations.

We need to keep moving.

But the truth is, our body and mind haven’t really returned.

A new study published in Science Advances (2025) shows that even after the threat passes, the brain – especially the amygdala – continues to operate from a “threat learning.”

In simple terms: even when reality calms down,

Our inner system is still on high alert.

I saw this with a senior leader I worked with.

While going through a painful divorce, she kept showing up “put together,”
holding everything in.

Only later, she chose to share.

Not from weakness -but from strength.

And what happened next surprised even her.

Her sharing didn’t weaken her authority-

It deepened it.

The team began to open up.

One shared feelings of loneliness.

Another shared a complex family struggle.

And suddenly – a different kind of space emerged.

A space of presence. Compassion and human connection.

A space that allows people to truly bring themselves

And from that place, to act, commit, and move forward.

This is the essence of leadership in times like these.

Not to pretend everything is “business as usual.”

When it isn’t.

But to hold the complexity.

To be both professional and human.

To lead – and to feel.

Because when we give legitimacy

To what’s happening within

We allow others to breathe.

And in a reality where people arrive at work

From emotionally charged homes

With partners in reserve duty,

Children who are afraid, Sleepless nights

And are still expected to fully function,

Our role as leaders is not to “solve” the tension,

but to hold it. To create space.

To lead with presence and awareness

And from this place, the real ability to move forward is born.❣️