Behind the Scenes: Tactical Crisis Management Lessons from the Frontlines
Morning Lives with Melissa Agnes
Release Date: 11/20/2018
Morning Lives with Melissa Agnes
Equanimity is the liberating skill of staying calm, balanced, and open-hearted, no matter what is happening around you. In this Morning Live, Melissa Agnes breaks equanimity down in simple terms and shows you how to practice it in real time, using your breath and self-leadership. You will hear: What equanimity is, and why it changes how you lead Why breath is your fastest pathway back to steadiness A self-leadership question to use when something external triggers you The four attitudes of equanimity: gratitude, forgiveness, acceptance, hope A guided grounding drop-in to help you...
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What you crave isn't the actual achievement of your goals. What you actually crave is the feeling you believe you’ll FEEL when you achieve your goals. In today’s Morning Lives with Melissa Agnes, we explore a simple shift that changes how you lead your week: you don’t have to wait for the milestone, the outcome, or the “someday” to feel the feelings you’re chasing. You can choose them now, on purpose, and it doesn’t just feel better. It also supports you in accomplishing your goals with more ease. In this episode, Melissa guides a short exercise to help you name what...
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If you’re feeling low, heavy, sad, or stuck in a funk, today’s episode offers a simple truth that can shift your state quickly: do something kind for someone else. When we’re in a low place, it’s easy to feel disconnected. We can get pulled into our own mind, our own stress, and the sense that we’re alone in it all. The practice we explore today is choosing connection through service. A small act of kindness brings you back into wholeness, and you can often feel your energy lift immediately. In this session, I share a Napoleon Hill quote that captures it perfectly: “Find your...
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Control can look like strength. But here is the hard truth we are working with this week: Control is a tool of fear. In this episode, we go one level deeper with a question that so many leaders carry, even if they do not say it out loud: "If I let go of my need to control, will I be weak? Will I be giving away my power?" The answer is no. Releasing your grasp for control is not weakness. It is how you reclaim your power, because control is fear-based, and fear pulls you into survival. When you are leading from survival, you lose access to the steadiness, creativity, and clear thinking you...
info_outlineMorning Lives with Melissa Agnes
Control can look like strength. But here is the hard truth we explore today: control is a tool of fear. When a part of us does not feel safe, the ego reaches for control. Control of the outcome. Control of the timeline. Control of the situation. Control of other people. It is the mind’s attempt to create certainty so it can feel safe. The twist is that control is also an illusion. When we lead from the need to control, we are not actually in control at all. We are in fear, and fear drives fear-based decisions. In this episode of Morning Lives with Melissa Agnes, you will explore this truth...
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Big decisions can make even the strongest leaders second-guess themselves. When there is no obvious right answer, most of us try to think our way into certainty. The problem is that “thinking harder” often creates more doubt, more stress, and more mental gridlock. In Day 2 of Morning Lives with Melissa Agnes, we explore a different approach to decision-making. One that starts in the body, not the brain. You will learn why relying only on the analytical mind can feed fear and uncertainty, and how to tap into your three intelligence centers for clearer, steadier decision-making: the brain...
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Fear and doubt do not mean you are off track. They often show up when you are standing at the edge of expansion. In this episode, recorded from the very first Morning Lives with Melissa Agnes, Melissa explores the two sides of the unknown and how to relate to fear without letting it drive your choices. This is a short, grounded reset for leaders doing work that matters, especially when resistance, noise, and second-guessing start creeping in. You will also be guided through a grounding drop-in to help you begin your day regulated, steady, and connected to what matters most. In this episode,...
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What if the strongest leaders aren't the ones who never feel fear, but the ones who can hold fear AND vision simultaneously? In this episode, Melissa explores the leadership superpower that nobody talks about: dual emotionality. As a Visionary Leader navigating change, you don't have to choose between feeling scared and holding your vision. You can do both—and that's actually your advantage. Discover: Why emotional duality is your secret weapon for staying in creation mode when others are in survival How to self-resource using the full spectrum of human emotion The neuroscience behind why...
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What if everything challenging in your leadership—the resistance you face, the conflicts that trigger you, the changes that feel impossible—is actually a mirror showing you exactly what needs to shift within? In this transformational episode, Melissa reveals the profound truth that visionary leaders understand: your external world is a direct reflection of your internal state. This isn't just spiritual philosophy. It's quantum physics meets practical leadership. You'll discover: The difference between probability leadership (leading from past patterns) and possibility leadership (creating...
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We've been taught to lead with logic, suppress emotion, and control the narrative. But what if that’s exactly what’s keeping us stuck? In this episode of Leading Through Change, Melissa challenges the outdated belief that emotion has no place in the boardroom. She explores how emotionality—when understood, named, and strategically integrated—becomes a powerful leadership tool. You’ll learn: Why emotion is not the enemy, it's simply energy in motion How low-frequency emotions like anger and grief can become catalysts for connection What “meeting people in their emotionality”...
info_outlineUtility companies are no stranger to the multitude of challenges that present themselves in times of crisis. As a result, they have a ton of real-time crisis management experience that others can learn from. Alectra is one such organization.
With a 1,250 m2 (or 2,000 km2) service territory delivering power to approximately one million customers in Ontario, Canada, Alectra deals with issues and crises on a regular basis. In this episode, Blair Peberdy, Vice-President of Government and Corporate Relations at Alectra, joins the Invincible Brand Podcast to share the many crisis management lessons he has learned throughout his career.
About this episode
It’s always great to learn from the mistakes, successes, and lessons learned by others—hopefully saving you from having to learn them the hard way. In this episode, Blair shares the structure behind Alectra’s crisis ready program, along with the many lessons the company has learned throughout its years of managing dozens of real-life and simulated incidents.
This episode provides a behind the scenes look at the different strategies and tactics that Alectra has implemented into its crisis ready program. These strategies and tactics continue to help the organization further strengthen its crisis ready culture, and the best part is that each of the lessons that Blair shares within this conversation are directly applicable to your organization and team.
This episode explores:
- The multi-tiered prongs that facilitate Alectra’s crisis communication to its different key stakeholders.
- The structure of the company’s crisis management governance, including the different roles they’ve designed and how they ensure these roles are scalable with employee turnover and the growth of the company.
- The role that crisis simulations play in helping Alectra continuously strengthen its crisis ready program and its team’s skills.
- A look at Alectra’s post-crisis debriefing structure and processes.
- How social media has changed the crisis management landscape.
Connect with Blair and Alectra:
- Email Blair with any questions: blair.peberdy@alectra.com
- Learn more about Alectra at alectra.com