It was a privilege to sit down with Yash Chitale, author of “A Poet in the Workplace” on Tuesday for our livestream, “The Inside Job”.
We talked about the pressure of the New Year – the overflowing inboxes and the immediate return to high-stakes demands.
One concept we discussed that seemed to resonate with the live audience was the difference between being a Thermometer and a Thermostat.
In the heat of a conflict or a stressful deadline, most of us default to being a Thermometer. We simply reflect the temperature of the room. If the team is anxious, we get anxious. If a client is aggressive, we get defensive. We let the external environment dictate our internal state.
But the leaders who truly navigate complexity – and avoid the “Zero-Sum” trap – act as Thermostats.
They notice the temperature rising. They feel the heat. But instead of just reacting to it, they actively set the temperature. They choose to inject curiosity where there is judgement, or calmness where there is chaos.
This shift isn’t about suppressing your feelings. It is about pausing long enough to choose a response that changes the outcome.
If you missed the session, we dove deep into how you can make this shift, how to surf your reactive instincts through values and identity, and how to find rhythm in the chaos.
You can watch the full recording here.
