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145: Why Your Brain Won’t Read a Long Email During a Disaster, with Mary Schoenfeldt

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Manage episode 512218811 series 3686013
Content provided by Manya Chylinski. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Manya Chylinski or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

Send us a text

A steady voice can feel like a life raft when the world flips.

We sat down with emergency management expert and ICISF faculty member Dr. Mary Schoenfeldt to unpack how leaders actually help in the acute moments and the aftermath—what to say, what not to fake, and how to hand off the mic.

Mary breaks down the brain science behind crisis: survival chemicals narrow our vision, mute our hearing, and shift us from executive function into fight, flight, or freeze. That’s why messages must be short, repeated, and grounded in plain language. It’s why “I don’t know yet, and here’s how we’ll find out” can earn more trust than polished certainty. And also why expecting one person to master every phase is a recipe for burnout. S

Mary also reframes public blame and second-guessing as a predictable search for control, not a verdict on character. That perspective helps leaders stay calm, focus on their needs, and maintain humane communication.

Along the way, we talk about peer support, ethical leadership, and the small, repeatable actions that make a huge difference when attention is tunneled and emotions run hot. If you lead people—at work, in government, in schools, or at home—this conversation offers clear tools you can use before, during, and after the next hard day.

Dr. Mary Schoenfeldticis is an ICISF Faculty member and an emergency management professional who is known for her work with business, health care, government, schools, and communities. She has responded to incidents around the world including hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, floods, airline accidents, school and community violence, and mass fatality incidents.

You can reach Mary by email at: [email protected]

Go to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp.

Support the show

__________

Producer / Editor: Neel Panji
Invite Manya to inspire and empower your teams and position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in well-being, resilience, and trauma sensitivity.
Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your listening platform of choice. It really helps others find us.
#trauma #resilience #compassion #MentalHealth #CompassionateLeadership #leadership #survivor

  continue reading

Chapters

1. Welcome and Guest Intro (00:00:00)

2. Rafting Story as Crisis Metaphor (00:03:58)

3. Defining Strong Crisis Leadership (00:06:33)

4. What People Need: Info and Control (00:10:53)

5. Scripts, Honesty, and Not Knowing Yet (00:15:08)

6. Brain Science and Survival Mode (00:19:18)

7. Blame, Control, and the Roller Coaster (00:24:58)

8. Four Phases of Crisis Leadership (00:29:28)

9. Recovery, Team Handoffs, and Empathy (00:34:48)

10. Hope, Peer Support, and Better Practices (00:38:18)

147 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 512218811 series 3686013
Content provided by Manya Chylinski. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Manya Chylinski or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

Send us a text

A steady voice can feel like a life raft when the world flips.

We sat down with emergency management expert and ICISF faculty member Dr. Mary Schoenfeldt to unpack how leaders actually help in the acute moments and the aftermath—what to say, what not to fake, and how to hand off the mic.

Mary breaks down the brain science behind crisis: survival chemicals narrow our vision, mute our hearing, and shift us from executive function into fight, flight, or freeze. That’s why messages must be short, repeated, and grounded in plain language. It’s why “I don’t know yet, and here’s how we’ll find out” can earn more trust than polished certainty. And also why expecting one person to master every phase is a recipe for burnout. S

Mary also reframes public blame and second-guessing as a predictable search for control, not a verdict on character. That perspective helps leaders stay calm, focus on their needs, and maintain humane communication.

Along the way, we talk about peer support, ethical leadership, and the small, repeatable actions that make a huge difference when attention is tunneled and emotions run hot. If you lead people—at work, in government, in schools, or at home—this conversation offers clear tools you can use before, during, and after the next hard day.

Dr. Mary Schoenfeldticis is an ICISF Faculty member and an emergency management professional who is known for her work with business, health care, government, schools, and communities. She has responded to incidents around the world including hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, floods, airline accidents, school and community violence, and mass fatality incidents.

You can reach Mary by email at: [email protected]

Go to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp.

Support the show

__________

Producer / Editor: Neel Panji
Invite Manya to inspire and empower your teams and position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in well-being, resilience, and trauma sensitivity.
Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your listening platform of choice. It really helps others find us.
#trauma #resilience #compassion #MentalHealth #CompassionateLeadership #leadership #survivor

  continue reading

Chapters

1. Welcome and Guest Intro (00:00:00)

2. Rafting Story as Crisis Metaphor (00:03:58)

3. Defining Strong Crisis Leadership (00:06:33)

4. What People Need: Info and Control (00:10:53)

5. Scripts, Honesty, and Not Knowing Yet (00:15:08)

6. Brain Science and Survival Mode (00:19:18)

7. Blame, Control, and the Roller Coaster (00:24:58)

8. Four Phases of Crisis Leadership (00:29:28)

9. Recovery, Team Handoffs, and Empathy (00:34:48)

10. Hope, Peer Support, and Better Practices (00:38:18)

147 episodes

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