Ever feel a meeting go off the rails fast—raised voices, defensiveness, zero listening? That’s often an amygdala hijack at work.
Psychologist Daniel Goleman coined the term emotional hijack in his seminal 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Others who built on his work evolved the term to amygdala hijack which describes a very fast, intense emotional reaction that is disproportionate to the situation. Our brain’s emotional machinery (the amygdala) essentially “takes over” before our slower, rationale brain can kick in. We find ourselves in a fight-flight-or-freeze response very quickly, often before our thinking frontal lobes have had time to assess whether the threat is even real.
Such high-speed responses are super helpful when you’re being chased by a saber-toothed tiger. They are less so when you’re responding to a colleague or boss.
How Amygdala Hijacks Show Up at Work
When you see or engage in one of the following, there’s likely a hijacking in progress:
- Overreacting to feedback or disagreement
- Panicking about changes or obstacles
- Feeling overwhelmed by performance expectations, pressure, or deadlines
- Going silent or shutting down in meetings
- Sending a blistering email before having time to cool down
- Jumping to blame instead of curiosity
- Adopting “us vs. them” thinking under pressure
Productivity drops, trust erodes, and good people stop doing their best thinking. Making matters worse, chronic stress further alters brain circuits, impairing regions like the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex that normally help keep the amygdala in check.
What Leaders Can Do
The good news? Leaders play a huge role in preventing and shortening these hijacks.
- Model regulation first
Teams take their cues from leaders. Calm tone, executive presence, curiosity, and measured responses are contagious. - Normalize emotional awareness
Recognize what’s happening. Creating psychological safety so that team members can express and name their emotions—in appropriate ways—helps re-engage the thinking brain. - Slow the moment down
Pausing can also interrupt a hijack. Even a 90-second pause, a breath, or a quick reset can interrupt the physiological stress response. - Create clarity and fairness
Uncertainty and perceived unfairness are major triggers. Clear expectations and transparent decisions reduce threat responses. - Build the team’s emotional intelligence (EQ) muscle
As Goleman reminds us, EQ isn’t a soft skill—it’s foundational. Self-awareness, self-management, empathy, and social skill are leadership competencies. - Practice reflection and repair
Because we are all human, it’s tough to eliminate amygdala hijacks completely. Just as important as reducing their frequency and duration is helping individuals and teams assess the root cause after a hijack and repair trust and relationships moving forward.
When leaders help teams manage amygdala hijacks, they don’t just reduce conflict—they build trust and help their teams unlock better thinking, stronger relationships, and more resilient performance.
Emotional intelligence isn’t about avoiding emotion. It’s about leading through it — especially under pressure.