A leader’s emotional state can account for up to 70% of their team’s mood. That line anchored INSIDE OUT: The Science Behind Emotions to Perfect the Art of Leadership, hosted at our Singapore office on 16 July, gathering clients and leaders from across HRnetGroup’s network of brands for the afternoon. Among the speakers was Catherine Yeow, Group Business Leader, HRnetOne Singapore & Bangkok, sharing the stage with Dianne Yang, Practice Leader of HRnetOne Korea, and Jesse Bath and Sunita Pong of Project Renaissance.
Together, our speakers explored how emotions manifest in workplaces across different cultures, and what happens in the brain and body when we experience them. From amygdala hijacks and mirror neurons to the refractory period that can keep leaders in “defend mode” long after a threat has passed, neuroscience was brought to life in practical, immediately applicable ways.
Key ideas from the day:
- Emotions are the signal. Feelings are the story
The same body signal can produce a completely different experience once the brain assigns meaning to it. Leaders often react to the story they’ve told themselves, not the signal itself. - The threats changed. The brain did not
Public criticism, being left out of a decision, a rejected proposal — the brain still reads these as survival threats, the same circuitry once reserved for a charging lion. - Emotional intelligence has to be built, not assumed
It isn’t something a leader is simply born with. It’s nurtured and learned, the same way any other leadership skill is built. - Emotions are contagious
Mirror neurons mean a team doesn’t just observe a leader’s mood, their brains start simulating it. An anxious or reactive state spreads through the room before a word is said. Your team does not experience your intentions. They experience your nervous system.
The most practical part of the session was the 10 Second Reset, a four-step sequence for the middle of a tense situation:
- Ground the body
- Extend the breath
- Affect label (naming the emotion in the moment)
- Target (choosing where attention goes next)
It’s the same tool used by surgeons and special forces, built to interrupt the hijack before it takes over. The goal is never to remove emotion from leadership. It’s to recover choice, especially in the ten seconds that matter most.
Why This Matters for Leaders
Great leadership isn’t about suppressing emotions. It’s about understanding them well enough to lead through them, rather than being led by them. For leaders, this emotional awareness is especially important when it comes to understanding people, managing teams, and creating the conditions for others to perform at their best.
We’re truly grateful to everyone who showed up, shared thoughtful questions, and stayed with us throughout. Your curiosity, openness, and willingness to learn made the session all the more meaningful. Here’s to more conversations, more learning, and more moments like these ahead.
