Episode 87 - Emotion at Work in Emotional Mastery – A Key Leadership Superpower

About this episode

Phil Willcox and Sara Sabin discuss the importance of emotional mastery in leadership and provide practical tools for emotional regulation.

Episode Summary Phil Willcox is joined by Sara Sabin to explore the internal game of leadership and why tools and frameworks aren’t enough without emotional mastery. Sara explains that mastery isn’t about being emotionless, it’s about noticing emotions without resisting them, regulating in the moment and spending more time in emotional neutrality (calm and clear, not suppression or “not caring”). They share a practical pathway, awareness, acknowledgement, acceptance, labelling and processing, plus two quick regulation tools: the power of the pause and a short mental rehearsal before high-pressure moments. The conversation also tackles “repellent energy” (neediness that leaks through communication), how to stay ambitious without over-attaching to outcomes and why many leaders build confidence on external validation. Sara introduces internal scaffolding, a steadier confidence that holds up when work and life shake your identity. Key Topics Discussed Emotional mastery and emotional neutrality The regulation pathway: awareness, acceptance, processing The pause (hard hack) vs mental rehearsal (easy hack) “Repellent energy” and reducing attachment to outcomes External vs internal…

People in this episode

Host: Phil Willcox

Guest: Sara Sabin

Topics covered

• Emotional mastery
• Emotional neutrality
• Regulation pathway
• Power of the pause
• Mental rehearsal
• Repellent energy
• Attachment to outcomes
• External vs internal confidence scaffolding
• Stress tests for identity and self-worth

Keywords

• leadership
• emotional intelligence
• self-regulation
• confidence
• performance

More episodes of Emotion At Work

• Emotion at Work in Beautiful Leadership · March 27, 2026 · 1h 12m
• Episode 86 - Emotion at Work in Working Joyfully and Living Fully · November 28, 2025 · 52 min
• Episode 85 - Emotion at Work in Emotional Exploitation of your people in the Hospitality Industry · November 3, 2025 · 28 min
• Episode 84 - Emotion at Work in Poetry and Business · September 26, 2025 · 55 min
• Episode 83 - Emotion at Work in Inclusion · May 28, 2025 · 1h 20m
• Episode 82 - Emotion at Work in High Performing Teams (part II) · April 29, 2025 · 43 min