How HR and business leaders can build trust, improve culture, and navigate conflict — even under pressure.
In high-stakes environments like hostage negotiations, every word, gesture, and decision has immediate consequences. While HR and business leaders aren’t handling life-or-death situations, they are operating under intense pressure. Balancing performance demands, team dynamics, and cultural expectations.
At SHRM25 in San Diego, keynote speaker Jeffrey Owens, a veteran police detective and hostage negotiator, shared insights from three decades of crisis management. His message for today’s workforce leaders: the same principles that defuse high-pressure standoffs can transform workplace culture.
At CRI, we believe effective leadership starts with behavioral insight and that includes how leaders manage tension, disagreement, and team dynamics. Here are seven key tactics from Owens that align with CRI’s mission to build performance-driven, people-first organizations:
1. Connection Is an Act of Respect
A high-performing team starts with mutual respect. Even in conflict, leaders can model civility by recognizing the person behind the behavior. When people feel seen and respected, not just evaluated, they are more likely to engage constructively.
Owens put it simply: “Civility is contagious. Respect breeds respect.” In a workplace culture guided by behavioral awareness, human connection becomes a strategic asset.
2. Influence, Don’t Control
Trying to control others usually backfires. The better approach is to model the behaviors you want to see, especially composure, curiosity, and empathy. According to Owens, “You can only control your own thoughts and actions. Everything else is influence.”
At CRI, we coach leaders to use influence intentionally by understanding how others are wired and adapting communication accordingly.
3. Validate Differing Perspectives
People make decisions based on their own internal logic and experiences. Validation doesn’t mean agreement, it means acknowledging that someone’s viewpoint is real to them.
When leaders validate before reacting, they build psychological safety. And when people feel safe, they’re more open to feedback, change, and growth. All essential for healthy performance cultures.
4. Listen More Than You Speak
True listening is more than hearing words. It’s about receiving information without rushing to solve, persuade, or defend. As Owens noted: “Listening leads to knowledge, knowledge creates empathy, and empathy drives understanding.”
This is a core tenet of CRI’s approach: understanding others through structured listening and behavioral insight, not assumption.
5. Inclusion Is a Behavior, Not a Policy
Inclusion isn’t just a value, it’s a habit. It shows up in who you invite into conversations, whose feedback you seek, and how you respond to different ideas.
By creating space for diverse voices, especially from people close to the work, leaders make better decisions and build trust across functions.
6. Culture Is What Leaders Demonstrate
Culture isn’t defined by mission statements. It’s shaped by what leaders consistently do. Owens challenged leaders to ask: “Would your team point to you as someone who models the company’s core values?”
CRI helps leaders close the gap between stated culture and lived experience, because when leadership behaviors align with values, engagement and accountability follow.
7. Trust First to Inspire Trust Back
Many organizations wait for employees to “earn” trust. But high-performing teams are built when leaders give trust first. That act of trust signals belief in people’s capability and that trust is often returned with stronger performance.
At CRI, we believe trust is a strategic decision that shapes culture, retention, and results. Empowerment begins with believing in your people.
Final Thought
According to SHRM’s Q2 2025 Civility Index, 66% of employees who experience incivility believe their managers could have done more to intervene. And 70% believe their leaders prioritize performance over people.
At CRI, we help organizations shift that narrative. With the right tools like pre-employment assessments, performance coaching, and behavioral training. Leaders can foster cultures where civility and performance go hand in hand. Because when leaders are calm under pressure, everyone else can rise to the occasion.