Your first five seconds
Your reaction in the first five seconds teaches more than any policy you write.
About 10 minutes this week
The practice
For one week, notice your first physical and verbal reaction whenever someone brings you a problem. Do not change it yet. Just record it: what your face did, what you said first, how fast you spoke.
Short read
People do not respond to what you believe about openness. They respond to your eyebrows. The first five seconds — before any of your considered response arrives — is what gets encoded and repeated to colleagues afterwards. A sigh, a glance at the clock, an immediate “why?” all register as cost, and cost compounds. The most common unhelpful first move is not anger; it is problem-solving. Jumping instantly to the fix signals that the report was an interruption to be closed rather than information to be understood.
Five-Second Log
Five slots, one line each, filled in immediately after.
Optional depth
Not required to complete the week — read it only if you want more on this.
The PAUSE Method for High-Pressure SituationsGuide · 32 pages Download
Reflection
Which reaction appeared most often — and what would someone junior conclude from it?
Follow your organization's own reporting policy. This program is about the conditions around reporting, not a substitute for it — it is organizational and communication content, not clinical guidance.