Leadership and Decision-Making Under Pressure: Why Speed Undermines Innovation

Lisa Stryker
Jan 26
2 min read

Updated: Jan 28

Leadership coach speaking to senior executives about emotional intelligence and decision-making under pressure

Leadership and decision-making under pressure often push leaders to move faster than the situation actually requires. In an AI-driven world, that pressure feels constant, and it can be costly.

I stood up in a room full of CEOs, COOs, presidents, and partners and said the “F” word.

Yep. I talked about feelings in leadership at a business conference.

The central theme was innovation in an AI-driven world, and I was there to speak about breaking bottlenecks and driving breakthroughs through effective leadership communication.

Because when change is happening at warp speed, the pressure on leaders to move fast is enormous.

And that pressure creates big emotions.

When emotions are high, intelligence is low.

That’s why so many leaders struggle to pause, even when they know slowing down would help.

The Cost of Fast Decision-Making Under Pressure

Here’s a common scenario I see in senior leadership teams:

A product manager is presenting three launch date options.

Barely two slides in, the VP interrupts:

“June 15th. That’s the one. We need to hit Q2.”

It feels decisive.

But what actually happens is quieter, and deceptively destructive. The discussion narrows, questions disappear, and concerns about risk move underground.

This is where leadership influence quietly erodes.

The leader believes they’re being responsible. The team experiences the moment as shutting down collaboration.

And innovation slows. Not because people lack ideas, but because they stop offering them.

Why Leadership Communication Breaks Down Under Pressure

This is the moment where most leadership tools fail.

Urgency spikes. The jaw tightens. The thought hits: “We can’t fall behind.”

The decision gets made before the conversation has a chance to unfold.

This is why knowing about emotional intelligence isn’t enough.

And it’s why reading about leadership tools, listening to podcasts, or relying on self-reflection only goes so far.

You can’t get perspective from inside the same mental loop that created the problem.

How Executive Coaching Changes Leadership Under Pressure

This is where 1:1 leadership coaching becomes a differentiator.

Coaching helps leaders slow this exact moment down — not days later, not in theory, but in real time.

Before coaching, leaders often mistake control for responsibility.

After coaching, they learn when not to decide.

They lean back just enough to:

invite creative collaboration
surface risk earlier
build shared clarity
and move forward with stronger alignment

This is how high-speed innovation actually happens.

Leadership in an AI-Driven World Requires Human Influence

As AI accelerates execution, human leadership becomes the constraint, or the catalyst.

Your ability to influence how people think together, assess risk honestly, and collaborate under pressure is what differentiates effective leaders from overwhelmed ones.

That capability doesn’t come from trying harder.

It comes from support, reflection, and practice, with someone who has no agenda other than helping you lead well.