Real resilience is forged when the stakes are high- under pressure, in uncertainty, and when there’s no margin for error.
Today, we’re excited to have Glenn Cohen, former head of psychology for the Mossad, joining us for the first part of a two-part series. With years spent in some of the most extreme environments imaginable, Glenn brings a rare understanding of how people think, react, and perform when it matters most.
In this episode, he breaks down his elite program for executives, clarifying what it truly takes to build mental strength and how those lessons translate to business owners and leaders. He also shares powerful, previously unspoken insights into what happens to the human mind under extreme pressure, and what enables some people to recover and come back stronger.
Glenn’s Journey
Glenn was born in New York City to a Swedish mother and an American father who died when he was six. After his father’s death, he cut off his emotions and became “the Ice Man.” His mother raised two children alone and, keeping her promise to provide a proper Jewish education, they returned to New York.
Glenn’s original plan to pursue basketball at Brandeis University changed after a year in Israel during the first Lebanon War, which led him to join the IDF. Against all odds, he became an Air Force pilot and served as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot, saving lives under fire. He was later recruited by the Mossad, where he spent 25 years and became the Chief psychologist for operational personnel. After retiring, he developed an elite executive program and currently works with corporate teams and executives.
Resilience
Anyone can become an elite operator and perform on the highest level by learning Glenn’s Elite Method. It starts with having one adult believe in you and combining that with real effort. That creates a sense of responsibility and pushes you to do everything possible to succeed. Hard work and commitment make all the difference!
Belief and Effort
Being seen as a person rather than just a number changes everything. When someone believes in you, it motivates you to work harder and stay committed. Putting in extra hours and effort is essential, especially when you need to prove that what you have always believed is true.
Emotional “Armor”
Resilience comes down to managing the thickness of your emotional “armor”- how much you shut down or stay open under pressure. If your armor is too thick, you disconnect from your emotions, making you not aware enough of danger or other people. If it is too thin, you become overly sensitive, anxious, and easily overwhelmed. The goal is to find the right balance so you can stay aware, responsive, and in control in different situations.
Emotional Release
After intense situations, there has to be a discharge of built-up emotional and physical tension. Holding everything in causes the tension to get stuck, while releasing it allows the body and mind to reset and continue functioning. A short release, such as a “power cry”, helps you restore your energy and enables you to keep performing at a high level.
Leadership
Leadership is not always inherent. It can be learned. For many leaders, internal pressure feels like an existential threat. Pressure, however, is not just about the external situation. It’s about how it is perceived. Strong leadership comes from managing your emotional world, not just focusing on execution.
The Elite Method Framework
Everything begins with the emotional world. The E Factor explains that emotions drive execution. However, most decisions are not made rationally. They are made psychologically and emotionally. So, execution is the final step, not the starting point.
Emotional Intelligence
Your performance improves when you understand what is going on inside you and around you. Leaders need to recognize their emotional needs and respond to them. That awareness allows for better connection, influence, and execution.
Tunnel Vision
In chaos, most people default to tunnel vision, focusing only on what is directly in front of them. That makes it hard to see the full picture. Effective leadership requires stepping back, thinking broadly, and working with others.
Balancing Mission and Humanity
High-pressure situations require both execution and sensitivity. It is not enough to focus only on the mission. You also need to take care of people and give them a soft landing.
Leadership Influence and Responsibility
Everything you do as a leader has an impact. What you say, how you act, and how you show up will influence others. Understanding that requires responsibility, but also gives you the ability to shape your environment and culture.
Bias and Human Behavior
People look for what they expect to find. Once there is a bias, they tend to interpret everything in ways that support it. That is generally influenced by others and by authority, making it easy for people to believe whatever fits their view.
Post-Traumatic Growth
Extreme situations not only lead to trauma but can also lead to growth. When people believe they can handle extreme situations, they find a way to move forward and grow from it.
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 trains top business and military brass with the five “E.L.I.T.E.” keys to resilience and peak performance, which he pioneered during his Mossad tenure.
Glenn Cohen immigrated to Israel from the United States and gave up a scholarship as a college basketball player in order to enlist in the IDF during the 1982 Lebanon War. Against all odds, he managed to fulfill his dream, and despite a 90% attrition rate, he graduated from the prestigious Israel Air Force Academy and received 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 mission impossible.
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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