CENTER FOR STRESS INTELLIGENCE
How can leaders make better - and wiser - decisions under pressure?
It’s never been tougher at the top. Today’s business leaders operate in a world of relentless uncertainty, polycrisis and information overload. CSI looks at the high levels of stress this creates, and how that stress distorts judgment, impairs cognitive performance, and ultimately leads to weaker financial outcomes.
CSI aims to help leaders thrive under pressure – by understanding, managing, and even harnessing their stress to improve decision-making under fire. And we explore how to shift the cognitive load from individual leaders onto intelligent, supportive systems.
Chase Sherwell/QBI
BRUNSWICK LEADERSHIP STRESS INDEX
Historic levels of pressure - higher than the pandemic
In partnership with Brunswick Group, CSI tracked the main sources of leadership stress over several domains – including economic uncertainty, market volatility, geopolitical instability, tech disruption and sustainability risk. Combining these into an overall indicator gives a clear picture of the pressures keeping CEOs awake at night.
Leaders today are operating under historically high cognitive load, and so stress has become a primary variable shaping decision quality — yet remains poorly understood as a leadership capability. To address this gap, CSI will advance research, insight and practice on how leaders can make better — and wiser — decisions under pressure.
We want a world in which leaders possess the Stress Intelligence required to make wise decisions that benefit organisations, societies, and future generations.
OUR VISION
Advancing Stress Intelligence as a leadership capability
LEADERSHIP STRESS RESPONSE TYPES
Take the Test
How does stress impact your decision-making? What is your strategy for making good decisions under pressure? Answering these questions starts with understanding your own default patters. Take our test to identify your own Leadership Stress Response Type.
CORE PRESMISES
Understanding Stress
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Stress is not a personal failing, it’s an integral part of what it means to be a leader.
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Stress degrades decision quality unless properly understood and managed.
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Decision-making is not purely rational — it is cognitive, physiological, and emotional.
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The burden of stress should not sit solely at the individual level — systems and cultures can distribute cognitive load.
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When leaders reframe stress and respond adaptively, pressure becomes an enabler for wiser decisions.
WHAT WE DO
Research
Research & Insights
Interdisciplinary research spanning neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and decision science — synthesised and translated for practitioners.
Tools
Diagnostic Tools
Frameworks and self-assessment instruments that help leaders understand their stress patterns and develop response flexibility.
Learning
Workshops & Programmes
Collaborative programmes with leading business schools — building stress intelligence as an organisational capability.
Consulting
Advisory & Coaching
One-on-one and team-based advisory for leaders navigating high-stakes environments — grounded in stress science.
Speaking
Keynotes & Events
Keynotes, practitioner roundtables, and closed-door dialogues with CEOs, boards, and leadership teams.
Content
Publications
Books, papers, essays, case studies, and the annual State of Leader Stress report.