Leaders who can wait calmly make everyone around them less frantic.

Calm is contagious in the same way panic is. A group reads whoever holds responsibility for a signal about how bad things are, and the speed of that person’s reactions sets the speed of everyone else’s, regardless of what is actually happening. Being unhurried in a tense moment is real work done on behalf of other people.

When something goes wrong around you, breathe before you speak and lower your pace rather than raising it. Ask one question before issuing anything. Whoever is steadiest ends up setting the temperature of the room.