Nala 🐶 ate a Dayquil 💊 (and what it taught us about leadership)

It started with a fever...

This past week, my nine-month-old daughter got sick. Full-scale fever, congestion, then the cutest, saddest, little cough you ever did see. My poor little snot ball was miserable for days, and then, of course, the rest of us dropped like flies. Every single one of us got it... THAT was fun 😣

One night, as we were all drinking ginger and honey tea, nursing our headaches and stuffy noses, we noticed Nala, our four-year-old Frenchie, acting strange. She was licking the floor obsessively, sniffing at something like she’d found a hidden treasure.

That’s when we saw it. A Dayquil pill.

Someone dropped it. And she had pierced it. The liquid was leaking. We had no idea how much she had ingested.

Panic.

Instantly, everything shifted. The congestion, the fatigue—all of it disappeared into a rush of fear. We grabbed the phone and called ASPCA Poison Control, hearts pounding.

And then… something unexpected happened.

The person on the other end of the line, his name was Dustin. He was calm, steady, methodical.

He didn’t match our panic. He slowed us down. He walked us through the next steps with such even energy that, without realizing it, we started to breathe differently.

He didn’t just tell us what to do. He regulated us.

The Power of Co-Regulation

Here’s the thing: when someone is in crisis—whether it’s a pet parent on the phone, a team member overwhelmed by pressure, or a partner feeling misunderstood—they don’t just need answers. They need you to be steady. They need you to change your state, to help them change theirs.

The ASPCA team isn’t just trained in toxicology. They’re trained in co-regulation—how to stay so calm, so grounded, that the person on the other end of the line can’t help but mirror that energy.

You Are Someone’s Poison Control Hotline

Every day, in ways big and small, you are that phone call for someone.

A direct report struggling with imposter syndrome.

A team facing an impossible deadline.

A family member drowning in stress.

When you know The BRAVE Framework®, you know how to show up like those experts—calm in the chaos, clear when others are clouded, unshaken even when the stakes feel high. You learn how to be the person others can co-regulate with.

What Would Change If You Mastered This?

Imagine if your presence alone could shift a room. If your steadiness helped your team move faster, with less friction. If your ability to regulate yourself made you the leader everyone turned to—not because of your title, but because of the way you make them feel.

That’s what we teach in BRAVE®.

Because leadership isn’t just about knowing what to do—it’s about knowing how to be.

If you’re ready to bring this kind of presence into your leadership, your conversations, and your life, here’s how:

1️⃣ Get on the list for our next BRAVE® program – It's a deep dive into communication that creates trust under pressure. Reply for more info.

2️⃣ Schedule a BRAVE Workshop for your team – Teams have said that even just 90 minutes equips you with the skills to lead with calm confidence. Reply for more info.

3️⃣ Try this today – Next time you’re in a high-stakes conversation, slow your breath and lower your voice. Watch how it changes the energy in the room.

This is the work. This is what changes everything.

Let’s be the steady ones.

BRAVEly,

Elisabeth

P.S. And in case you were wondering, yes, Nala is totally fine :)