Saba Imru-Mathieu

Saba Imru-Mathieu Saba Imru-Mathieu is an Executive Leadership Coach and CEO of Leaders Today, a coaching company.

Emotional Self-Regulation: Leadership Under PressureLeadership is often tested when emotions run high, for example a dif...
11/08/2026

Emotional Self-Regulation: Leadership Under Pressure

Leadership is often tested when emotions run high, for example a difficult conversation, receiving critical feedback, a project setback or stakeholder pressure.

In these moments, technical expertise alone is rarely enough and what often makes the difference is emotional self-regulation.

One insight I frequently explore with coaching clients is that many of us have a surprisingly limited emotional vocabulary. We may describe ourselves as stressed, frustrated, or fine.

But are we anxious, disappointed, overwhelmed, concerned, discouraged? The subtle difference between these emotions is not insignificant. The ability to identify and name emotions more precisely helps us understand what is really happening beneath the surface.

Research suggests that naming emotions can help reduce their intensity and support clearer thinking. We cannot regulate what we do not recognize, and we cannot recognize what we cannot name.

Emotions are extremely rich information, they help us identify when boundaries have been overstepped, when a situation requires our full attention, what motivates us and they act as an internal compass that guides decision-making.

Recognizing and naming our emotions sheds light on why we feel in any given way in certain circumstances, and it enables us to more easily choose response over reaction.

💭 What emotion have you been experiencing most often at work recently?

         Resilience ExecutiveCoaching EmotionalAgility WorkplaceLeadership

✨ The moment we become aware of a habit, a belief, an emotion, or a behavioural pattern, something important happens. We...
17/07/2026

✨ The moment we become aware of a habit, a belief, an emotion, or a behavioural pattern, something important happens. We gain options.

🔴Instead of reacting automatically, we can choose our response more intentionally.

🟡 That small space between awareness and action is where much of leadership development takes place.

💭 How has greater awareness helped you make better choices?

15/07/2026

🔴 The most common request I get from leaders today isn't about strategy or vision, it’s about managing stress.

🔵 When I started coaching executives, topics like stakeholder management and strategic planning dominated conversations. But lately, the first thing leaders want to address is often coping with the rising tide of stress.

🟢 The workplace has become faster, more uncertain, and more demanding which in turn exarcerbates usual leadership challenges such as managing a team, dealing with conflicts in the management team or balancing work and personal life.

🟡 Stress was once considered an inevitable consequence of a demanding career. Today, it is recognised as a critical issue that requires deliberate attention. Although many sources of stress lie outside a leader's control, coaching enables leaders to develop the self-leadership skills needed to respond effectively, safeguarding both their wellbeing and their performance.

15/07/2026

🔴 The most common request I get from leaders today isn't about strategy or vision, it’s about managing stress.

🔵 When I started coaching executives, topics like stakeholder management and strategic planning dominated conversations. But lately, the first thing leaders want to address is often coping with the rising tide of stress.

🟢 The workplace has become faster, more uncertain, and more demanding which in turn exarcerbates usual leadership challenges such as managing a team, dealing with conflicts in the management team or balancing work and personal life.

🟡 Stress was once considered an inevitable consequence of a demanding career. Today, it is recognised as a critical issue that requires deliberate attention. Although many sources of stress lie outside a leader's control, coaching enables leaders to develop the self-leadership skills needed to respond effectively, safeguarding both their wellbeing and their performance.

13/07/2026

The foundation of effective Leadership is Self-Leadership.

Let's start with the first step:

Self-Awareness, the foundation of Self-Leadership. Many leadership challenges are not knowledge problems.

They are awareness problems. Most of us already know many things that would help us become more effective leaders. We know we should listen more carefully, manage our reactions, establish better boundaries, and seek feedback.

The challenge is often not a lack of knowledge.

It is a lack of awareness.
Awareness of our habits.
Awareness of our assumptions.
Awareness of our triggers.
Awareness of the patterns that support—or undermine—our effectiveness.

Before we can change a behaviour, we must first notice it.
Self-awareness is where self-leadership begins.

Which aspect of yourself do you understand best—and which aspect remains a mystery?

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭‼️𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓! Last call for your free webinar today‼️📆 9 July, 2026🕓 17:00-18:...
09/07/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭

‼️𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓! Last call for your free webinar today‼️

📆 9 July, 2026
🕓 17:00-18:15 CEST
📍 Zoom link for registration: https://leaderstoday-co.zoom.us/meeting/register/8RsxD93dRiiMqcOgr6UJNw

✨ Excellence in leadership starts with self-leadership.

🔵 Most leadership development programs focus on how to lead others. The part that is often overlooked is that our inner world, our mindset, how feel about things, our intentions, our doubts and aspirations determine how we show up in the world and shape the impact we have on others.

🔴 I've been coaching senior leaders for over 20 years, and although we talk about external factors such as how they express their leadership at work, how they direct organizational change, manage sensitive stakeholders, or develop innovative strategies, the real transformation occurs when we address self-leadership, the inner work that all successful leaders engage in.

➡️ Join me in this free webinar, to explore four practical foundations of self-leadership: self-awareness, mindset, emotional self-regulation, and personal effectiveness. Discover simple tools to lead yourself with greater clarity, resilience, and impact.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞?I had the pleasure of mod...
30/04/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞?

I had the pleasure of moderating a round table on 22 April 2026, “𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑪𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑪𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔: 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰𝒕 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔.”

🔵 It was a rich and engaging conversation, where our distinguished Speakers from the international community shared their lived experience of building coaching cultures—what has worked, what has challenged them, and what has truly made a difference. I can’t give enough thanks and credit to them in this short post, but here are some highlights of insights they offered us.

✨ Isla Gordon, Principal at the International School of Geneva and Certified Professional Coach, spoke about how coaching skills training for managers and faculty has strengthened collaboration, while also creating space for more personalized dialogue with students.

✨ Vanessa Bocquet, ICF ACC, Internal Coach in the HR Division, World Trade Organization, described the evolution of the coaching program within her organization and how it has contributed to building trust and strengthening relationships.

✨ Jesus Guerrero, Chief of Management and Communications at the United Nations Geneva and Co-Chair of the International Organizations Coaching Network (IOCN), shared insights from a network that now brings together 180 internal coaches across the UN system and other international organizations.

🔴 It was particularly meaningful for me to witness the remarkable progress in the adoption of coaching since the early 2000s, when I was working in a UN agency and only a small group of us, HR colleagues were beginning to introduce coaching into their organization.

🟢 Today, it is striking to see that organizations built on consensus and international cooperation are also making a deliberate, strategic choice to foster coaching cultures internally—strengthening collaboration, resilience, and performance.

❇️ I also had the opportunity to share a systemic approach to culture change, through which ICF Switzerland can support organizations in starting or strengthening their coaching culture.

🟠 I am deeply grateful to ICF Switzerland for creating this dedicated space for International Organizations and NGOs, in the spirit of Switzerland’s longstanding tradition of supporting institutions that advance international dialogue and cooperation.

🎉 A warm thank you to the ICFS Geneva community for organizing the event, to Ecolint for welcoming us in their lovely meeting room, and to the ICFS colleagues who volunteered their time and energy for this event.

➡️ If you work in an international organization or NGO don’t miss the opportunity to hear the real-world experience of e...
22/04/2026

➡️ If you work in an international organization or NGO don’t miss the opportunity to hear the real-world experience of experts who introduced coaching culture in their organization and improved climate, relationships and focused work. And learn how to do the same!

🌟 This is a rare occasion. Sign up now, it’s the very last call‼️ Link in comments.

🌞 We look forward to welcoming you to this in-person event in Geneva.

Last call to sign up now:

https://icfswitzerland.regfox.com/icfs-roundtable-from-coaching-initiatives-to-coaching-culture-what-it-takes-22426

Round Table organized by International Coaching Federation Switzerland.If you work in an international organization or N...
18/04/2026

Round Table organized by International Coaching Federation Switzerland.

If you work in an international organization or NGO don’t miss the opportunity to hear the real-world experience of experts who introduced coaching culture in their organization and improved climate, relationships and focused work.
This is a rare occasion, sign up now! 😊

Registration link in comment.
In person event in Geneva.

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