A Masterclass in Crisis Communication with Sofie Morgan, MD MBA | Ep. 73 | The Science of Leadership

In this high-stakes episode of The Science of Leadership, host Tom Collins sits down with Dr. Sofie Morgan, an emergency medicine physician and Associate Chief Medical Officer at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Drawing from her frontline experience in life-and-death scenarios—including managing the influx of victims from a mass shooting—Dr. Morgan reveals the critical communication strategies required when everything is on the line.

The conversation explores how leaders can cut through the "emotional contagion" of a crisis to provide clarity, steadiness, and a clear path forward for their teams.

Key topics include:

• The Anatomy of Crisis Communication: Why effective messaging must be clear, calm, and succinct to regulate the emotional temperature of the room.
• Command and Control vs. Trust: Understanding why directive leadership is essential in a crisis, and how it must be built on a foundation of pre-established trust and psychological safety.
• The "Individual Crisis": How leaders can identify when a team member has "frozen" in the moment and use validation and simple steps to move them back toward action.
• The Science of Stress: Examining research that shows clear communication can reduce time to intervention by 30% and why individuals instinctively seek authoritative cues under pressure.
• Practical Crisis Protocols: Concrete steps for leaders, including the "mini-pause," narrating your thought process, and closing the communication loop to ensure verification.
• The "Cake" Analogy: Why communication is not a "soft skill" or mere icing, but a core ingredient of effective leadership and medical care.

Whether you are leading a medical team, a corporate department, or a community organization, this episode provides a scientific and practical roadmap for maintaining order in the face of chaos.

Also, I want to remind listeners about the release of my book, "The Four Stars of Leadership," a culmination of over three years of dedicated work, and I'm confident it will be an immensely interesting and helpful guide on your journey to becoming a better leader. Don't miss out on this essential resource—order your copy today at Amazon or Barnes & Nobles and share your thoughts with me!

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References

Leach, J., & Griffiths, A. (2014). Restriction in cognitive capacity in emergency responders during critical incidents. Ergonomics, 57(11), 1627–1642. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2014.939244

Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D. (1995). An integrative model of organizational trust. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 709–734. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1995.9508080335

Street, M. H., Thomas, E. J., Patel, M. B., & Boyle, K. B. (2020). Association of rapid response team communication with time to clinical intervention and patient outcomes. JAMA Network Open, 3(11), e2028735. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.28735