Welcome to Part 2 of our conversation with Glenn Cohen, former head of psychology for the Mossad.
In Part 1, we explored how resilience is built and how to prepare yourself before the pressure hits. Today, we take it further. Building resilience is one thing. But most leaders struggle to make clear, effective decisions when everything is on the line, and they’re facing uncertainty, risk, and real consequences.
In this episode, Glen explains how elite performers think and act under pressure, how they navigate uncertainty when there are no clear answers, and what you, as a business owner or leader, need to do differently when the stakes are high.
Post-Traumatic Growth
Trauma does not have to lead to PTSD. Around 70% of people will encounter a traumatic event, but only about 10–15% develop PTSD. Trauma can shake core beliefs or involve extreme threat, but it can also be an opportunity for growth. Knowing this creates strength and shifts expectations.
Resilience vs Growth
Resilience is the ability to bounce back. Growth is the ability to bounce forward. Rather than simply recovering from a traumatic event and returning to their previous level of functioning, people can develop new meaning, discover capabilities they did not know they had, and build a stronger sense of self. Real transformation happens when you shift from simply recovering to actually growing.
Coping
Even in extreme situations like captivity, people demonstrate an inherent ability to cope. Some individuals can survive severe physical and psychological trauma and still move forward. Many prove to themselves that they are capable of far more than they imagined, reinforcing a new sense of strength and resilience.
Meaning
A clear sense of meaning keeps you moving forward, even when everything else is gone. As Viktor Frankl describes in Man’s Search for Meaning, those who hold onto a strong why, or something bigger than themselves, are far more able to endure extreme hardship. That sense of purpose does not remove the suffering, but it gives it direction, and, in many cases, that direction becomes more powerful than the physical conditions themselves.
Small Wins
Small actions build psychological stability and help individuals function under extreme pressure. Finding small wins in uncontrollable situations restores a sense of control. When business leaders track time, create routines, or follow daily patterns, it anchors their identity and reduces chaos.
Belief Is the Foundation
Belief in oneself, in others, and in something greater is the most important coping mechanism. It drives action, endurance, and recovery. When belief is strong, other capabilities follow.
The Stockdale Paradox
Balancing realism with hope is essential. Facing brutal facts while maintaining belief in a positive outcome prevents disillusionment. Leaders must avoid unexamined optimism and instead operate with grounded confidence and openness to uncertainty.
EQ Over IQ in Leadership
Emotional intelligence consistently outweighs IQ in leadership and performance. High EQ enables connection, trust, and motivation. Leaders who rely only on logic and data tend to create disengaged teams, while those who lead with EQ generate commitment and energy.
Togetherness and Trust
Build togetherness on trust and psychological safety, a concept popularized by Amy Edmondson. Teams perform best when individuals can show vulnerability, admit mistakes, and rely on each other. That level of trust unlocks creativity, collaboration, and resilience.
Facing Reality
Life includes joy and suffering at the same time. Accepting this duality prepares individuals to handle adversity without becoming destabilized, allowing them to move forward without denial or false expectations.
Collective Strength and Resilience
Amplify strength through unity. Facing adversity together builds resilience at both the individual and collective levels. Shared belief and connection enable not just survival, but the ability to continue and thrive.
BIO: Glenn Cohen
Hostage Debrief team leader and former Mossad Chief Psychologist.
Born and raised in NYC, he moved to Israel after high school and served for over 30 years as an air force pilot, Mossad officer, special forces psychologist, and IDF hostage negotiator.
Since retiring with the equivalent rank of Colonel, Glenn has trained top business and military brass in the five “E.L.I.T.E.” keys to resilience and peak performance, which he pioneered during his tenure at Mossad.
Glenn Cohen immigrated to Israel from the United States and, as a college basketball player, gave up a scholarship to enlist in the IDF during the 1982 Lebanon War. Against all odds, he fulfilled his dream, and despite a 90% attrition rate, he graduated from the prestigious Israel Air Force Academy and earned his wings as a pilot.
After serving for 7 years as a helicopter pilot in the Lebanon war zone, Glenn was recruited into the Mossad and served for over 25 years in various positions, reaching the equivalent rank of colonel as Chief psychologist. In this capacity, he was responsible for selecting and training the elite operatives to believe that there is no such thing as an impossible mission.
Glenn accompanied and advised commanders from the cutting-edge units of the defense establishment – Mossad, Shin Bet, “Yamam” SWAT teams in all matters related to resilience and peak performance under extreme conditions. Based on thousands of hours of mentoring combatants and commanders from the most elite units of the defense establishment, Glenn developed the ELITE method for leadership and team building.
Since he retired from the Mossad in 2015, Glenn has shared the ELITE method, mentoring and training CEOs and their teams from leading organizations around the world, enabling them to reach their full potential and execute like an ELITE team.
Since October 7th, Glenn served for over five months in emergency reserve duty in the IDF Hostage Negotiation Unit, where he was designated to be the first mental health professional to meet the released hostages upon their return to Israel. Subsequently, he wrote the protocol for recovering the returned hostages and led a team of psychologists who debriefed the 168 hostages upon their release.
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