May 6, 2026
In the intense, high-stakes environment of perioperative services, every decision, tone, and reaction can affect patient outcomes, staff morale, and overall team performance. That’s especially true for those in leadership roles, and especially true when an urgent problem or crisis is occurring.
As a perioperative leader, when you find yourself responding to difficult situations in the OR and elsewhere in the perioperative suite, it can be difficult to keep your composure. But not to worry: There’s a valuable tool you can access that can transform you into exactly the type of leader every intense situation requires.
In her Periop Leader Week session, “Emotional regulation in leadership: The hidden superpower in high-stakes surgical environments,” Katherine Gonzales, RN, BSN, MSM, CSSM, CNOR, director of surgical services with Memorial Healthcare System, will explore how emotional regulation and emotional intelligence directly influence leadership effectiveness, communication, and culture in the OR.
Through real-world examples and practical evidence-based approaches, you’ll learn to identify your emotional triggers, understand the science behind emotional response, and apply practical techniques that will help you remain composed when you’re engrossed in high-pressure situations. Ms. Gonzales will reinforce the principle that “when you lose your composure, you lose your leadership,” and will demonstrate how emotionally aware leadership fosters trust, stability, and improved operational results.
To paraphrase an idiom based on an Ice Cube lyric from 33 years ago: You’ll learn to check yourself before you wreck yourself (and your entire OR team).
We recently spoke with Ms. Gonzales about her upcoming session.
Why should perioperative leaders attend this session?
Perioperative leaders work in one of the highest-pressure environments in health care. Many leaders are promoted because they are clinically strong and operationally capable, but very few are ever taught how to navigate the emotional demands of leadership in real time.
In surgical services, leaders are constantly balancing patient care, operational demands, staffing challenges, surgeon relationships, throughput, and team dynamics, often all at once. In those moments, how a leader responds matters. Not only for the immediate situation, but for the culture and psychological safety of the team moving forward.
This session will focus on emotional regulation as a leadership skill. It is not just about what we communicate, but how we show up during high-stress situations. A leader’s ability to remain calm, objective, and grounded during moments of pressure directly impacts communication, trust, teamwork, and ultimately patient care.
Emotional regulation is often the missing piece in leadership development. We spend a lot of time teaching operational and clinical skills, but not enough time teaching leaders how to manage themselves under pressure. This session brings practical strategies and real-world examples that leaders can immediately apply in their day-to-day practice.
You mentioned emotional regulation and emotional intelligence. Distinguish those two concepts.
Emotional intelligence is the awareness piece. It is recognizing emotions in yourself and others and understanding how those emotions influence communication, behavior, and team dynamics.
Emotional regulation is what you do with that awareness in real time, especially under stress. It is the ability to pause, stay objective, and respond thoughtfully instead of reacting emotionally in the moment.
In perioperative leadership, situations escalate quickly. When challenges arise in the OR, teams naturally look to leadership for direction and stability. A leader who can remain composed and solution-focused during difficult moments helps create psychological safety and keeps the team centered on problem-solving rather than escalating stress.
That ability to regulate yourself under pressure becomes incredibly impactful. It strengthens communication, builds trust, improves team dynamics, and sets the tone for the entire environment.
If you’re a leader who is naturally high energy or tends to react quickly under stress, how do you develop emotional regulation?
It absolutely takes practice and self-awareness, but emotional regulation is a skill that can be developed over time.
Part of it is learning to pause before responding, especially during high-stress situations. It is recognizing your triggers, understanding how your response impacts the team around you, and building habits that allow you to lead with intention instead of emotion.
During the session, I’ll share practical techniques that leaders can apply immediately, along with real examples from perioperative leadership environments that many people will relate to.
I also think this is an important conversation because no leader handles every situation perfectly. Leadership growth comes from reflection, self-awareness, and being intentional about how we show up for our teams. My hope is that attendees leave with practical tools they can apply immediately to strengthen communication, team culture, and their own leadership presence.
