270. When Leaders Don’t Contain the Conflict

The Kathie Owen Perspective Podcast · Mar 3, 2026 · 12m

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Show Notes

At 2:00 a.m., a woman was banging on my hotel door screaming, “Call 911.”

Another was sobbing, “My mom’s going to die.”

Someone was throwing up in the bathroom.

Two men were lying in bed watching it unfold.

And Nana — the business — was on the floor.

That night revealed something I now teach inside boardrooms, executive teams, and M&A environments:

Under pressure, every leader defaults into predictable patterns.

Control.

Catastrophe.

Collapse.

Calm.

Withdrawal.

These responses are not moral failures.

But when they run the room unconsciously, they are expensive.

In…